The Secret of Zootopia
by ItsKpex
Summary: Zootopia is the place where animals can co exist peacefully, where every single animal lives in one area, right? Well, all but one species. Humans have been secluded from the rest of Zootopia for thousands of years, ever since they were forced into hiding by the predators. But now it might all change. Join Zach, an 18 year old human, as he becomes the 1st human in Zootopia.
1. Chapter 1

Zootopia...the place where all species of animals, predator and prey, co exist peacefully in a single environment. Every single animal in the world living in one sprawling metropolis. Well, that's where you'd be wrong. What if I told you that there was one specific species that was left out of the mix, a species that we're all familiar with? Yes, I'm talking about humans. Now, I know you guys must think I'm crazy, but hear me out. I'll tell you what happened.

Long ago, back when hunters roamed the vast ecosystems of the planet, viciously searching for the prey that hid in fear, humans had been one of those hunters. But, unlike how we know things had turned out, mankind didn't get so lucky on the food chain. Humans quickly shifted from the hunters to the hunted, the population vastly decreasing each passing year. This caused the remaining humans to seclude themselves from the rest of the species, in fear of being hunted and having the species dying out. You would think that being secluded from the rest of the world would mean that the human race would be still acting the way they did oh so long ago, but it's actually the complete opposite. Humans have been living in a very secluded area of the large landmass, no other animal knowing that this place even exists. Despite being secluded, they managed to get they're hands on technology found from Zootopia. Over years of evolution, they became very stealthy, so stealthy that they were able to snag some of the tech from Zootopia as early as the 1950s. The humans studied this new form of technology and used it to their advantage. Now, it's 2016, and the human population is slowly rising back up, now at about 300,000, despite it being as low as 14,000 at one point. The technology they have developed is within 3 years of Zootopia's, which makes the human's society much like the society we know today. But, despite now knowing about predators and prey living in peace, humans refuse to join with the rest of the life forms on this planet, despite it being safe. Well, now that all might change because of one brave boy with a dream, a dream of being the first human in Zootopia.

 **...**

"Zach?" No answer. "Zach!" Silence fills the air. "ZACHARY!" A very startled boy, who is presumed to be Zach, fell to the floor, a blanket wrapping him up like a burrito.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Zach said, only to see his mother looking down at him, an annoyed glare plastered onto her face.

"C'mon Zach. It's noon. It's time to get up. I don't want my son to be a bum." His mother said to him, tapping her foot in impatience.

"Why can't I sleep in?" Zach whined, trying to escape the blanket's grasp.

"Because for the past week you've been waking up at 2 pm and it needs to stop." His mother gave him a stern expression and Zach sighed in defeat.

"Okay, okay, I'll get up." He stated, finally letting himself free from the imprisonment that his blanket had on him.

"We have lunch downstairs made for you, sweetie. Come in when your ready." His mother stated, leaving Zach alone in his room. The 18 year old sighed and stood up from the floor, throwing his comforter back onto his bed haphazardly. He sluggishly made his way towards the bathroom, attempting to rub the fatigue out of his eyes. Once he got into the bathroom, Zach glanced at himself in the mirror. His blonde, floppy hair was a disheveled mess, his blue eyes looked bloodshot, their were dark circles under his eyes, saying he looked terrible would be an understatement.

"I need to stop staying up late." Zach said to himself, turning towards the shower. He turned on the shower, letting it warm up as he disrobed. A quick shower, getting dressed, and combing his hair back into its usual style soon followed. Zach walked back over to his room, wanting to grab his phone from there. He looked in the corner of his room to see the black backpack he left there, which reminded him of his plan. He was going to Zootopia to try to make it big, which couldn't be that hard since he would be the first human there. He knew that every human in the one village they all lived in absolutely despises Zootopia, still believing that they'd be hunted down by the others. But Zach knew that this wouldn't happen, and he wanted to prove that. This thought triggered a memory that happened not to long ago, two days ago actually.

 **...**

 _Zach walked into the living room of his home, his mother sitting on the couch reading a book quietly. He slowly approached her, nervous about the question he was about to ask her._

" _Hey mom?" Zach asked, trying to make his tone sound as polite as he possibly could._

 _"Yes?" His mom lowered the book from her face, her reading glasses sitting loosely on her nose._

 _"What if I said that I wanted to go to..." Zach hesitated for a moment, "Zootopia?" His mother had a look of utter horror on her face, the book she held slipping from her grasp and falling to the floor._

 _"What did you just say?" His mother asked, not believing the words that escaped her son's mouth. Nervousness kicked in high gear, beads of sweat rolling down Zach's forehead._

 _"Oh! I...uh...want to go to Zootopia?" Zach repeated himself, causing his mother to look at him like he was insane._

 _"Why on earth would you want to go_ _there?" His mother asked, a mix of shock, anger, and confusion in her tone_.

" _Because I don't see why we can't go there. I mean, they're just like us, not like our ancestors described them. They live together in that place in harmony, so I want to prove that we should join in." Zach finished his small rant to his mother, sounding more and more confident by the second._

 _"Have you gone crazy?" His mother shouted. "You want me to let you go to some far away city filled with animals that'll kill you? I'll tell you this now, it's not going to happen!" Zach became irritated with his mother's ignorance._

 _"Why? It's a place where everyone gets along peacefully, and it's been like that for a while! It's not like I'll get mauled or something!" Zach yelled back, anger bubbling up inside of him._

 _"YOU'RE NOT GOING AND THAT'S FINAL!" His mother screamed at him, which made Zach just storm out of the room, mumbling something incoherent_.

" _I will go to Zootopia, I'll prove everyone wrong." Zach thought to himself._

 **...**

~Woo! Story! I hope you guys enjoyed this so far. I literally saw the movie today, and I was like "Yeah! I could write something about this!" and this popped out. So, excuse my overall lack of knowledge of this fandom. And leave me some feedback telling me how I did, it's always appreciated. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

The time was 11:30 PM, everything outside was dark, save for the few streetlights that lined the roads. Zach's mother was asleep, as it was usual for her to go to bed before 11 o'clock. After waiting for a half an hour, Zach knew that this was the time to carry out his plan. He slung the backpack over his shoulder, which contained a few changes of clothes, personal hygiene items, and some snacks and water. He made sure to take his phone, but he wasn't exactly sure that it would work there, considering his phone ran on the networks humans created. Despite that, he still wanted to take it. Maybe FaceTime would still work there if he needed it. He stuffed the rectangular object in his pocket, making sure it couldn't fall out. He looked at the note he left on his bed, which explained that he left for Zootopia and said that his mother shouldn't worry. He knew this was what he wanted to pursue, and he was eighteen, he could make decisions for himself.

After a quick final glance around his bedroom, Zach walked over to the door. He opened the door slowly, being careful not to wake his mother up. He slowly walked down the hallway and towards the living room. He looked at all the pictures on the walls, most of them of his family. His mom, him, and his dad. The thought of his dad brought a silent tear to his eye. His dad had died of a heart attack the year before, which devastated Zach and his mother. His mother went into a short depression, not even leaving her bedroom most of the time. After Zach convinced her that his father wouldn't want to see her like this, that he wanted to see the two of them succeed, he got his mother out of the small depression. That's another reason he was hesitant about leaving, his mother would be alone here. But Zach knew that she's stronger than ever, and that she knows that he will try his best to succeed, like his father had wanted for them. He wiped the tears away, not wanting to waste any more time pondering about the past. He quietly opened the front door, saying a soft goodbye to his home, before exiting completely.

As he walked down the streets of the human-filled settlement, he was thinking of a way to get to Zootopia. This would be a challenge, considering that his money wouldn't be able to be used in Zootopia as it is in the settlement. Also the fact that the settlement was surrounded by mountains almost entirely, except for a small opening that was covered by a dense forest. Zach knew that he had to go through said forest, because he knew damn well he didn't feel like climbing a mountain. As he continued towards where the opening was, he noticed two of the settlement's police officers up ahead. This made Zach a little nervous, considering that he might look suspicious walking this late at night. As he neared the officers, one of them looked up at him, nudging his partner to look up as well.

"Hey kid, why are you out so late? You do know that curfew is at 10:00, right?" One of the officers stated, and Zach tried to compose himself as best he could.

"I know, I was just leaving one of my friends' house. My house is just a few blocks away." Zach said, sounding completely calm and collected. The two officers seemed to buy it, since they gave the boy a small smile.

"Alright, just hurry on home. There are a lot of crazies out here, so be careful." The second officer told him, and Zach nodded in respect.

"Alright, thanks officers." Zach told them, jogging away from them, backpack slowing his pace slightly. Once he was sure he was out of range of the two officers, he slowed down and decided to save the rest of his energy for the long trek to the large metropolis. He continued to walk down the street towards the edge of the settlement, being completely silent the whole way. He decided to give himself something to listen to. He pulled out his phone and his headphones, sticking each of the buds in his ears. He opened a radio app on his phone and picked a station. The human settlement managed to connect to the radio signals from Zootopia, so they could get music from there as well. It's funny how humans use so many things because of the animals there, but refused to join them in living peacefully. That's why he wanted to go there, to prove that humans could live together with animals. That, and to actually see animals walking on two legs. From what he read from his ancestors, humans were the only bipedal animal back then, which confused Zach. Why did animals become bipedal as well? That's why he's going as well, to find out a bunch of info on them. He decided to cut his thoughts short and just listen to the rock music that was currently playing

About 10 minutes had passed and he made it to the dense forest he was looking for, two mountains on either side of it. This forest was much more dense than the one that hid the settlement from any aircraft that flew above.

"No wonder anybody can't find us, it's almost impossible." Zach said to himself, standing at the edge of the forest. He quickly took out his earbuds, turning off the music he was listening to. He wanted to be alert as he could, just in case. He started his way through the dense forest, barely getting through some of the gave the trees created. It was a good thing that Zach was pretty skinny, or else getting through here would've been an issue. After about an hour of weaving through the thick line of trees, he finally reached the other edge of the forest. Zach was surprised to see that there was a road that led past the edge of the forest.

"You're telling me that we've been living this close to them this whole time." Zach wanted to face palm so bad. He started thinking about what his options were. Hitchhiking was out of the question, since these animals probably didn't trust someone they've never seen before. Any sort of public transportation was out of the question too, considering he didn't have any money.

"So I guess I'll walk." Zach sighed and pulled out his phone, opening the maps app. It was a good thing humans were able to get gps signals too, or else this would've been a lot harder. He set a destination to downtown. It was the closest thing to him at the moment, and it was a good hour and a half walk away. Zach just sighed and started the long trek towards the city center.

 **...**

"So, Carrots. What're we doing today?" Nick Wilde asked his partner in crime, Judy Hopps, who was driving their police cruiser around the downtown area.

"What do you mean? You were there when we were assigned our post for today." Judy looked at Nick with a confused look.

"Well, I may or may not have been sleeping the whole time." Nick gave her a sly grin. Judy just groaned and shook her head.

"Figures." She stated plainly, but quickly she turned back to her usual cheery attitude. "We just have to patrol the area. It's a slow day." Judy explained to her partner, who just nodded. They continued to patrol around the area, vigilant and keeping a sharp eye out for danger, until the radio interrupted their silence.

" _I got reports of a disturbance at 14th and Leopard Lane in Downtown, any unit able to investigate?_ " The radio said. Judy looked at Nick and nodded, signaling him to pick up the opportunity. He grabbed the radio and spoke into it.

"Dispatch, this is Unit 240. Officers Wilde and Hopps are on the case. 10-4" Nick quickly said and put the radio back to its original place.

"Alright, let's check it out." Judy said, turning on the sirens, the blaring noise warning other drivers. Nick slipped on his aviators and held on for dear life, knowing that Judy's driving could become very erratic. She bobbed and weaved through the traffic, trying to get to where the source of the disturbance was. Once they reached where the disturbance was, which happened to be a small plaza, they saw a large crowd of animals. Some of them seemed to be throwing rocks at someone who was in the middle of the crowd. The fox and rabbit duo jumped out of the police cruiser and went straight over to the crowd

"ZPD! Everyone freeze!" Judy yelled, and the crowd seized for a brief moment.

"Unless you wanna be charged for assault, I suggest you leave now!" Nick said to the crowd, lowering his aviators for a dramatic effect. Quickly the crowd started to disperse, the animals obviously not wanting to be charged with assault. But when the crowd finally left, they were shocked to see something that they never saw before.

 **...**

~Boom! Second Chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'd like to say thanks to the people who left positive feedback on this story already, it honestly helps me get motivated to do this. If you have any questions or want to leave feedback, you're always welcome to PM me or leave it in the reviews section. With that being said, thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Zach was walking through the city, admiring all of the interesting architecture that surrounded him. He was in awe at all of the tall buildings on each side of him, considering that he didn't have any tall buildings in his settlement. He saw a plaza with benches up ahead, and he decided that would be a good place to rest. As he spotted a bench in the plaza, he walked past a group of animals, which consisted of wolves, rhinos, and lions. The group of animals gave Zach dirty looks as he passed them, which the human didn't notice. Unbeknownst to Zach, all of the animals that had seen him had given him weird looks, some may have been scared of him. But Zach didn't know that quite yet. He sat down on the bench he had spotted, looking around in awe. He put his backpack next to him, unzipping the front pocket. He pulled out a granola bar and a sketch pad and pencil. Zach munched on the granola bar while he sketched his surroundings, suddenly feeling inspired by this new environment. He wanted to become known for anything that had to do with art or design, but he knew it would be difficult. He sketched for a while before a high-pitched scream made his head snap up in confusion.

"OH MY GOSH! WHAT IS THAT THING?" A zebra woman screamed, her finger pointing in Zach's direction. "SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!" Zach's eyes widened, afraid of the impending danger. He threw the sketchbook back in his backpack, zipping it up as fast as he could. He grabbed the bag by the handle and attempted to run. His path was blocked by a very intimidating looking lion. Full of fear, Zach started to run in the other direction, only to be grabbed by a giant rhino. He was trapped, no where to go. A group of people started to form around the three figures, all of them curious about the noise. The lion, after examining him more thoroughly, stepped back with a look of disgust.

"Ugh, what is that thing? It's hideous!" The lion's words shattered Zach's pride, causing his eyes to start watering. Mutters from the crowd around him agreeing with what the lion said. Between being called hideous and being humiliated in public, his adrenaline start pumping. He started to struggle in the rhino's grasp, which the rhino didn't expect. This allowed Zach to escape the rhino's grasp and try to make a break for it.

"Someone stop him!" The rhino shouted. The lion thought fast and picked up a rock, hurling it towards Zach. It managed to hit the human in the back, causing him to shout in pain and fall to the ground. While he was on the ground in pain, he attempted to stand back up, but another rock was thrown at him...and another...another one after that. Soon a barrage of rocks were being flung at him, the only thing Zach could do was cover his head and curl into a ball. He didn't know how to fight back, he had a pretty sheltered life up to this point. Sirens suddenly filled the air, causing some of the rocks to cease. Zach didn't dare to look up from his curled position, fearing that rocks would be thrown at him again. Tears were rolling down his cheeks, he was genuinely afraid.

"ZPD! Everyone freeze!" A female voice shouted. The crowd almost immediately silenced itself.

"Unless you wanna be charged for assault, I suggest you leave now!" Another voice, a male one, shouted as well. All that was heard next was rocks being dropped to the concrete and footsteps going away from Zach. After the everything went silent for a moment, footsteps came towards him again. Then a gasp followed as the footsteps stopped. Zach peeked up from his ball to see the two police officers that had saved him, a red fox and a grey bunny. When the two of them looked at Zach, their eyes widened. The fox immediately took out what seemed to be a tranquilizer gun and took a step back.

"What is that thing?" He asked his partner, fear and confusion seemed to be written across their faces.

"I don't know." The bunny told the fox, pulling out her tranquilizer gun as well. Zach immediately got into a sitting position and started crawling back slowly, keeping an eye on the two officers.

"P-Please, I didn't do anything wrong." Zach said, trying to regain his composure. Tears still falling down his cheeks, he was still scared to death. He knew that he'd get some weird stares because he was different, but not brutally beaten by animals bigger than him. Noticing the human boy's fear, the rabbit lowered the tranquilizer gun, elbowing her partner to the same, which he complied.

"What happened?" The bunny asked him, genuine concern in her voice. Zach started visibly shaking, adrenaline still coursing through his veins.

"I was just minding my own business, s-sitting on a bench, when someone noticed me. T-They started attacking me, throwing rocks." Zach explained, trying not to let the tears start again. The fox and rabbit's ears lowered, as if to show sympathy for the human.

"It looks like they messed you up pretty bad." The fox stated, pointing out the scratches and bruises on Zach's arms, legs, and face. The two put their tranquilizer guns back into their holsters, making Zach relax a bit.

"Can you stand?" The rabbit asked, going to help Zach get up.

"Yeah, I'm good. Bruises don't keep me down...usually." Zach said, chuckling a little. He stood straight up, now towering over the two officers. The two officers only went up to his waist, which surprised Zach at first.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" The rabbit asked, a worried expression.

"Nah, I think I can manage. I don't feel too bad." Zach replied, grabbing his backpack off the ground. The fox just continued to stare at Zach, not saying a word. Feeling uncomfortable by the fox's stare, he decided to speak up.

"What? You like what you see?" Zach snickered, a smile forming on the rabbits face.

"Oh, so we got a joker here?" The fox rolled his eyes and gave a sly smirk. "But what even are you? Your not like anything I've seen. You look a science experiment gone wrong." The fox said to Zach, his rabbit partner elbowing him in the shoulder. "Ow! Hey, Carrots. I said not to do that anymore."

"That was rude to say to someone. Especially to someone who was just assaulted." The rabbit scolded, giving Zach an apologetic smile.

"It's fine." Zach said, trying to ignore the ignorant comment.

"But in all seriousness, what animal are you...uh..." The rabbit trailed off, signaling that she didn't know Zach's name.

"Zach." The human introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you Zack, I'm Judy, and this is Nick" The rabbit introduced herself and her fox partner.

"Yeah yeah, enough of the introduction, back to the point. What are you?" Nick asked once more, circling Zach like he was examining evidence.

"I'm a human." Zach stated, which caused a look of confusion to appear on both of their faces.

"Hu-man?" Nick pronounced the new word, unfamiliar with this species. Zach tried to think of another way of describing his species. Maybe they called humans by a different name. Then a thought hit him. He learned about the history of humans, which stated that they were the first bipedal creatures to roam around.

"Yeah, we were the first bipedal species, back in the primal days." Zach further explained, a look of realization and shock appeared on Judy's face.

"Oh yeah, I remember learning about that for a play I was in when I was a bunny. Wait, you're one of them?" Judy asked, a look of excitement. Zach nodded and Judy's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. Nick walked back next to Judy and crossed his arms.

"Calm down, bunny butt. It's not like it's a big deal." Nick said nonchalantly, earning an 'are you kidding me' glare from both Zack and Judy.

"Nick, this is the first time humans are interacting with other animals in thousands of years. It is a big deal." Judy told her partner, who just shrugged it off. "Why did you come here, by the way?" Zach had remembered the whole reason why he'd come to Zootopia.

"Well, I wanted to prove to the rest of the humans that we could survive in this kind of society. All of the others were completely scared of all animals, but I was fascinated by this place. I was able to see that you were just like us, not like the predators and prey of the primal days. We're all equal, and I want to prove to the rest of my species that we shouldn't be afraid anymore." Zach finished his explanation.

"That's a pretty big responsibility for just you." Judy said, looking at him in amazement.

"Yeah, but I just wanted to be apart of this great place for so long, and I want everyone back home to be apart of it too. That's why I'm going to prove to them it's safe...well, kinda." Zach said, examining the bruises that were left on his arms.

"Aw, you poor thing. Don't worry, after they get to know you, that won't happen anymore." Judy said optimistically, a small smile forming on Zach's face.

"Yeah, I hope so. Thanks again for stopping them before I got pummeled into the concrete." Zach said, looking at the two officers with a smile.

"No prob, all in a day's work." Nick said, lowering his aviators, giving the human a wink. Zach couldn't help but laugh at the fox's action.

"So, where you headed now?" Judy asked Zach, who gave a nervous look.

"Well...I'm, uh, not exactly sure. I mean, all the money I had isn't accepted here and I don't have a job. I'm gonna have to find one soon though." Zach explained, putting the straps of his bag over his shoulders.

"Well, good luck with that. Cmon Judy time to go." Nick said, trying to hurry back to their duty.

"Wait, we can't leave him out here, he could start a panic, or get beaten again. The city would go crazy if they saw him, well, saw more of him than they already did." Judy explained to her partner.

"Okay, so what're we gonna do? Take him home with us?" Nick asked sarcastically, but Judy just smiled widely. Nick's face suddenly went from annoyed to doubtful.

"No, we're not taking this creature with us." Nick stated, causing Zach to glare at him.

"This 'creature' has feelings y'know." Zach said, obviously irritated.

"Nick, cmon. If he stays out here, the whole city would start going nuts. No offense." Judy looked at Zach with an apologetic smile, and he just smiled back understandingly. "And it's our job to keep the city under control."

"Hey, as much as I think it's a good idea, I don't want to be any trouble for you guys." Zach said, worrying that they'd be going too far out of their way.

"Yeah, it would be-" Nick started to say.

"Of course it wouldn't be a problem! We have more than enough room for you. You can stay until we can figure out what to do." Judy said, hopping up and down.

"Hey! Don't I have a say in this?" Nick asked.

"Nick, come on. He's not doing any harm. Don't you think if he meant to hurt anyone he would've done something by now." Judy said, giving Nick her big bunny eyes to try to convince him. Nick seemed to loosen up a bit, his expression getting softer.

"I guess you have a point there, Carrots." Nick looked at Zach. "Alright, you can stay with us. But, you better be potty trained." Nick gave Zach a shit-eating grin.

"Oh haha, we got a joker here." Zach smirked, imitating what Nick said a few minutes ago. Nick just rolled his eyes and turned around.

"Alright, let's get a move on." The fox said, motioning to the police cruiser that was parked on the side of the road. Judy called her partner, along with Zach behind the duo.

"This is going to be a long journey." Zach thought to himself.

...

~Hey guys! Thanks for reading Chapter 3 of my story. I'm so happy about all the great feedback I've been receiving, so thank you! Also, I might take a day or two to actually plan this story out a bit better (because God knows I need all the help I could get.) Anyway, leave some feedback to let me know how I'm doing. On that note, have a great day!


	4. Chapter 4

Nick, Judy, and Zach were driving through Zootopia, with Zach looking out the window with awe. It was sort of a tight fit to get Zach inside the cruiser, but it was a good thing that Zach was skinny and short, by human standards anyway. Judy looked in the rear view mirror at Zach and smiled.

"It's an amazing sight, isn't it? I felt the same way when I came here for the first time." Judy explained, to which Zach gave a nod.

"Yeah, where I'm from they don't have buildings as tall as this." Zach explained, his blue irises glued to his environment. Watching the buildings go by reminded Zach of the sketch he was doing earlier. He quickly unzipped his bag and pulled out his sketch pad and pencil once more. He continued to sketch the scenery he saw at the plaza, his pencil going at the paper rapidly. Nick must've picked up the noise the pencil was making, since he turned around and looked at Zach.

"Whatcha doing there?" Nick asked curiously, peeking at the page Zach was sketching on. Zach looked up at Nick, startled by his question.

"Oh, when I was in the plaza I started sketching my surroundings. It's was a really nice place to draw." Zach stated, continuing to sketch out the scene.

"Hey, can I see it?" The fox asked him.

"It's not finished yet, but sure." Zach agreed, handing Nick the sketch pad. The fox looked at the page, his eyes widening. The picture showed a perspective view of the plaza, looking out past the trees that lined the area and towards the large buildings that stood behind them.

"Wow, for being a science experiment gone wrong, you got some real talent here." Nick said, grinning back at Zach. Zach just rolled his eyes and gave a lazy grin.

"I'll accept that complement, you pint-sized fur ball." Zach joked, causing Nick to chuckle a little.

"Ooh, I wanna see!" Judy said excitedly, taking a quick peek at the picture. Her eyes seemed to sparkle in amazement.

"Wow, that really good!" Judy exclaimed, putting her eyes back on the road.

"Heh, thanks! I was hoping to get a job that had to do with art or design when I got here. I'm not sure if that's gonna happen now, though." Zach said dejectedly, looking down at his lap. Judy heard his depressed tone and thought of a way to make him feel better.

"Zach, don't worry. Once the world sees that you're just a nice, kind, and smart fella, you won't have any problems. I promise." Judy assured Zach, who gave her a smile.

"Thank you guys so much. Im really glad you guys weren't like the others that saw me." Zach said to the two animals sincerely.

"Hey, no problem kid." Nick said, giving the sketchbook back. Just then, a voice came in from Judy's walkie talkie.

"Officer Hopps?" The voice said, which made Judy grab the walkie talkie from her belt.

"What is it Clawhauser?" Judy asked, wondering what the problem.

"Chief said that since it's a slow day, you guys could go home early." The voice, who Zach assumed was Clawhauser, explained to them.

"Alright, copy that." Judy said, putting the walkie talkie back onto her belt. "That's awfully nice of the chief to do that, letting us go home early."

"He's finally warming up to me." Nick said, putting his paws up on the dashboard.

"More like had enough of you and wanted you gone." Judy giggled and continued driving.

"So wait, you got to drive back to the station, right?" Zach asked, to which the two of them nodded. "What if someone sees me?" Zach was afraid that he would get beaten again, and Judy and Nick could see why.

"Yeah, don't want you to become paste on the sidewalk, now do we?" Nick said, Judy glaring at him.

"You really know how to comfort someone, don't you?" Zach said sarcastically, causing Nick to smile nervously.

"Wait I got an idea. Our apartment is on the way to the station, so I'll drop you two off and take the cruiser to ZPD and take the subway home." Judy explained to Nick and Zach.

"Sounds like a plan, Carrots." Nick said, taking off his aviators and stuffing them in his pocket. The rest of the car ride was mostly quiet, except for Nick noting Judy's 'bad' driving. He got a face full of dashboard for that one. Once they reached Nick and Judy's apartment, the two began to get out of the car.

"It shouldn't take too long, okay? I'll be back soon." Judy told them, to which they both nodded. Zach tried to get out of the cruiser when his foot got caught on the seat, making him fall face first into the concrete. Nick noticed this and couldn't help but die from laughter.

"Ooh my g-God! I should've recorded that!" Nick said between his laughing fits, Judy looked out the window of the cruiser with a look of concern.

"You okay Zach?" Judy asked him while he stood up.

"Yep, all good. I just love the taste of concrete." Zach replied jokingly, a smile forming on her face.

"Alright, you two. I'll be right back. Don't burn the place down...Nick." Judy said before jamming on the gas and shooting down the street. Zach couldn't help but snicker at Judy's warning.

"Yeah, don't burn down the plac-"

"Shut it," Nick cut Zach off, causing Zach to start laughing completely. "Alright, Giggles, let's go inside." Nick started walking over to the front door of the building. Zach took a final look at his surroundings, all of the buildings starting to light up the night sky, before following Nick into the building. They walked up two flights of stairs before reaching the correct floor. Zach followed Nick until they reached his apartment, 216. Nick pulled out a key and stuck it into the lock, a clicking sound later heard. Nick opened the door to reveal a decent sized apartment. There was a living room with a green couch, a brown coffee table, along with brown end tables, and a flatscreen tv. The kitchen was also a decent size, having all the necessities you'd expect. Oddly enough, all of the furniture was human sized, or at least big enough to accommodate Zach's size.

"Welcome to Case de Wilde!" Nick jokingly said, causing Zach to smile.

"Pretty nice place you got here. You're pretty lucky to have your own place." Zach looked around the apartment with awe, everything seemed to amaze him at this point.

"Why is that?" Nick asked curiously.

"I've been living with my mom until now." Zach stated, remembering his life back in his settlement. A troubled look must've shown itself on Zach's face, since Nick looked at him with slight concern.

"Is something wrong? Looks like somethings bothering you." Nick asked, seeming to show genuine concern for Zach. Zach just sighed and figured that he could trust the fox...kinda.

"It's my mom. She didn't want me coming here, so I left in the middle of the night. I left a note for her, saying where I was going, and that she shouldn't worry. I feel horrible leaving her alone." Zach couldn't help but let a couple of tears roll down his cheeks. He quickly wiped them away, feeling stupid for crying. "I'm sorry, I know I'm a baby for crying." Zach struggled to compose himself. Nick did the only thing he could do. The fox walked up to the saddened human and wrapped his arms around him.

"Look, Zach. You're not a baby, okay. It's alright to let out your emotions, I learned that from Officer Fluffybuns." Zach couldn't help but smirk at Nick's nickname for Judy. "And besides, you're the only human that had enough guts to come to Zootopia. You're the complete opposite of a baby." Nick looked up at Zach, who just sniffled and wiped his eyes once again.

"I guess you really do know how to comfort someone." Zach said, smiling slightly. "Thank you." Nick just smiled and broke their embrace.

"Like I said, I learned from Fluffybuns." Nick said, and the two of them chuckled at the joke. "Anyway, you should take a shower. You smell like concrete." Nick smirked at Zach, while Zach just glared at him jokingly. Zach then proceeded to grab a change of clothes from his bag before heading towards the bathroom. He took a shower and put on his clothes, which consisted of a red t-shirt and black jeans. When Zach got out of the shower, Judy had arrived, and was already cooking something for dinner. Zach said that he had his own food, but Judy insisted that he eats with them. The rest of the night they ate and talked until the three had to go to bed for the night. Judy had made a makeshift place for Zach to sleep on the couch. All of the blankets they had were rabbit/fox sized, so they didn't exactly work too well for Zach. Zach insisted that he didn't need one and he'd be fine. And with that, Zach fell asleep for the first time in this new city.

 **...**

 **~Here's chapter 4 everyone! I planned out the next 3-4 chapters, depending on how much stuff I add or cut. So I'm not just winging the story every time I write. Also, thank you guys for the positive feedback on this story, it gives me a well needed confidence boost. I noticed how some people were saying that the way I introduced humans was different from other stories, and that's what I aimed for. I didn't want a human to just spontaneously** **teleport or die and go to furry heaven, I wanted a more realistic approach. I'm not saying that stories that start like that are bad, I thoroughly enjoy some stories like that, I just wanted to create one with a realistic aspect. Anyway, I'm rambling on stupidly at this point. As always, leave feedback that you have for me, since it's always** **appreciated. Have a great day!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Zach was sitting at a table in a fast food restaurant, his mom and dad sitting across from him. Zach had a regular veggie burger with French fries, his mother had a simple salad, and his father a triple veggie burger with fries and a soda. Zach and his father had already began eating, but his mother hadn't touched her food yet._

 _"Zach, honey? Are you sure that this stuff is healthy. It sure doesn't seem like it." Zach's mother asked him, not trusting the food. Zach wiped a piece of lettuce off his face, swallowing the rest of his food before talking._

 _"I'm pretty sure it can't be that bad. Besides, one sitting wouldn't hurt anybody." Zach stated, continuing to eat his food. His mother finally gave in to the food's temptation, eating a mouthful of salad._

 _"So, how was school, Zach?" His mother asked._

 _"Same old stuff, but I did get an A on a History test." Zach beamed with happiness, which made his father smile._

 _"That's great, kiddo. Keep making us prou-" His father had started to say, not before he grabbed his chest. His face was contorted into a face of discomfort, sweat starting to form on his forehead. Zach was paralyzed with fear, not knowing what to do._

 _"Oh god, he's having a heart attack!" His mother screamed. "Someone call an ambulance!" Zach's eyes widened as his mother screamed these words. He was suddenly able to move again, taking the opportunity to call an ambulance. He quickly took out his phone and called the ambulance. The phone rang twice before someone picked up._

" _Emergency services, what's the problem?" A voice said at the other end._

 _"M-my dad is having heart attack, please send an ambulance!" Zach practically yelled, his fear rising when his dad was fell to the ground, unresponsive._

"What's your address?" The operator asked.

" _We're at the McDonald's on 43rd and Maple Drive. Please hurry!" Zach screamed, tears rolling down his cheeks._

 _"Alright, an ambulance is on its way, don't worry." The operator said, and Zach nervously thanked them. He hung up and looked to see that another customer had begun doing CPR on his father._

 _"An ambulance is coming!" He told his mother, who had begun to cry. Zach held his mother tightly, the both of them letting tears fall. The customer continued doing CPR, but his father was still unresponsive._

 _"Dad...please...wake up...please...PLEASE!" Zach yelled, hoping that his father would be fine. But before anything more could happen, everything went black._

 **...**

Zach woke up in a cold sweat, the bodily fluid rolling down his face. He'd been shaken awake by Nick and Judy, a look of concern written across both their faces.

"Hey, are you okay? You were screaming a lot." Judy asked, concern lacing her voice.

"It sounded like you were getting murdered." Nick tried to make a joke, but Zach didn't seem to notice.

"Y-Yeah, I'm all good." Zach said, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. Suddenly, a guilty expression appeared on Zach's face. "I woke you guys I up didn't I?" Zach asked, and Judy reluctantly nodded. Zach just let out a sigh. "I knew I'd be a bother, I'm sorry." Zach said, burying his face into his hands. Judy's and Nick's ears lowered at Zach's distress.

"Hey kid, don't worry about it." Nick said, giving a tired smile.

"Nick's right, it's not a big deal. You can tell us what happened in your dream if you want to." Judy said gently. Zach thought about what happened in his dream, contemplating if he should say something.

"It's okay if you don't want you, but I want you to know, you can trust me. I don't know about Nick here, though." Judy smiled.

"Hey!" Nick said defensively, causing Zach to give the two a sad smile.

"Alright, I trust both of you." Zach cleared his throat, which was terribly dry. "It wasn't much of a dream, it was more like a memory. It was the day that my dad...passed away. We were at a new fast food place that opened up near our house, my mom kept telling me that those places were unhealthy, but I really wanted to go." Tears threatened to spill over, but Zach quickly stopped them. "So we went, the three of us. We went in and got our food, but when we started eating, my dad had a heart attack." Nick and Judy were in utter silence. "I always think that I was the reason that happened, no matter how many times my mom told me that it wasn't my fault. If I didn't take him there he might've still been here." Zach finished explaining, surprisingly keeping his cool about the whole situation. Judy and Nick were in shock. Judy was the first one to speak up.

"You can't blame yourself for that, nobody knew that would happen. It was just some freak thing that nobody could predict." Judy assured him, which did make Zach feel a little better.

"I know, it's just a painful thing to remember." Zach stated, wincing at the last memory of his father. Zach just took a deep breath to calm his nerves down. "Well, I've kept you guys up long enough. You guys should go back to bed, I'll be fine." Zach told the two, feeling guilty about waking them up.

"I thought you'd never say that." Nick got up sluggishly, stretching his arms. Judy just shook her head and smiled at Zach.

"See you in the morning, Zach." Judy said, following Nick towards their rooms. Once they were out of earshot of Zach, Judy tapped Nick on the shoulder.

"See, I told you he was a nice guy. He cared about waking us up more than himself." Judy told Nick, who chuckled quietly.

"I gotta give you credit, Carrots. You were right, he is a pretty good kid. Definitely takes a joke better than you do." Nick smirked at the rabbit, who just groaned.

"Goodnight Nick," Judy said, giving Nick an annoyed smile. She went into her room, wanting to get to sleep.

"What? No goodnight kiss?" Nick said jokingly. Judy just scoffed and slammed her door shut, but Nick could hear her giggling from behind the it.

"You got rejected, bro!" Zach's voice was heard from the living room, which made Nick smile. He waved to Zach goodnight before returning to his own room.

 **...**

The next morning, Zach, Judy, and Nick were sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. It was 5:30 am, and you could imagine what Zach felt like. Zach had very noticeable dark circles under his eyes, his blonde hair was sticking up in many directions, and the bruises he had made him look more like a zombie than anything. Nick was the first one to notice this.

"Hey, someone wake you up from the dead?" Nick asked Zach, who just looked up from the table sluggishly.

"If you were used to waking up at 2pm you'd feel like this too." Zach said, his voice monotone and low.

"Did you not sleep well after your nightmare?" Judy asked curiously, but Zach just shook his head.

"Nah, just didn't get enough hours as I usually do." Zach said, an idea popping into his head. "I'll be right back." Zach stood up from his seat and walked towards the bathroom, leaving a confused rabbit and fox at the table.

"What is he doing?" Nick asked Judy, who shrugged in response. Shortly after, they heard water running in the sink.

"Woo! That's cold!" Zach yelled out, causing Nick and Judy to laugh. A minute later, Zach came back to the table, his hair damp from water.

"Awake now?" Judy asked, hiding a snicker from behind her paw.

"Yep, much better." Zach's voice had its usual enthusiasm once again, not seeming the slightest bit tired.

"Alright, now that everyone's awake. What're we gonna do about Zach?" Nick asked Judy, who started thinking.

"Well, we can't just keep him here forever. So our best plan is to take him in to Bogo." Judy stated, and Zach looked at Judy confused.

"Who's Bogo?" Zach asked her.

"He's the ray of sunshine that happens to be the chief." Nick said sarcastically, causing Zach to make an 'O' shape with his mouth.

"He'll know what to do, I hope." Judy said, laughing nervously. The three had finished their meals and gotten ready to go, the two officers in their uniforms. The trio walked out of the apartment building and to the subway across the street. When they got to the station, Zach stopped Nick and Judy before the train came.

"Do you guys not want me to sit with you? I don't want you guys to get any dirty looks." Zach asked them, knowing of the dirty looks he was already receiving.

"If they look, so what. I'm not trying to impress." Nick shrugged it off, and Judy agreed with her partner. Zach just nodded and waited for the train to come.

After about a 15 minute train ride, which was filled with animals giving uncomfortably long stares at Zach, they had finally made it to the ZPD. When they approached the building, Zach was awestruck once again.

"This place is massive!" Zack said surprised.

"Yep, you need a big station for a big city." Judy smiled, pushing the front doors open. When the doors opened, it revealed the large main lobby of the station. In the middle of the lobby was a desk, where a chubby cheetah was eating donuts. The three of them walked towards the desk, Zach being nervous about his reaction.

"Hey Clawhauser!" Judy greeted the cheetah, who looked up from his desk.

"Oh, hey guys!" Clawhauser said with an unusual amount of enthusiasm. He had a large smile on his face until he took notice of Zach. "Uh, not to alarm you, but there's a weird creature standing behind you." Clawhauser pointed at Zach, who gave a nervous smile.

"Oh, that's just Zach. He's a human." Judy explained.

"Hi there!" Zach said to the cheetah, who looked utterly terrified of him. "I promise, I won't hurt you." Zach said as gently as possible, trying not to start a mass panic.

"H-Hi," Clawhauser squeaked, still afraid of the human.

"I guess it's a step up from the reactions I got earlier. It's a lot better than getting beaten and getting rocks thrown at you." Zach admitted to Nick and Judy.

"T-They did that to you?" Clawhauser asked Zach who nodded in response.

"That's how I got these bruises." Zach showed Clawhauser the bruises that littered his arms. "I really couldn't fight back, mostly because I would've gotten all of my bones broken." Zach let out a nervous laugh.

"Oh you poor thing." Clawhauser said sympathetically, not seeming as scared as before.

"Alright, enough of the sympathy, we have something to do," Nick said, hinting to Judy and Zach of their plan.

"Oh wait, I almost forgot to tell you! Chief wanted to see you as soon as possible. He said that there were sightings of a hairless creature..." Clawhauser trailed off of his sentence when he realized something. He looked at Zach with wide eyes.

"Hey, it's you! You're the hairless creature!" Clawhauser squealed with surprise. Zach immediately went up to shush him.

"Can you keep it down please? I don't want to get beaten with rocks again." Zach stated, and Clawhauser gave an embarrassed smile.

"Oops, sorry." The cheetah apologized.

"It's cool, dude. Besides Nick and Judy, you're the nicest animal I've seen. So thanks for, y'know, not killing me." Zach chuckled at the end of his sentence, earning a small smile from Clawhauser.

"No problem, and be careful." Clawhauser told Zach, and Zach nodded.

"C'mon, Zach. We can't keep the Chief waiting." Nick said, starting to get impatient.

"Coming! Bye Clawhauser!" Zach said before running to where Nick and Judy were. When Nick, Judy, and Zach had reached where Chief Bogo's office was, Judy stopped Zach.

"Okay, we'll go in there first, talk for a bit, then we'll introduce you, okay?" Judy told Zach, and he nodded. The two entered the the chief's office, leaving Zach outside.

"Officer Hopps, Wilde. I'm glad you're here." Chief Bogo started. "There have been reports of a hairless creature wandering downtown, and since you were patrolling the area when the first siting took place, did you happen to see it around the area?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we did." Nick said, a smug look on his face. While Nick said this, Judy told Zach to come in.

"Well what happened? I need details, Wilde." Chief Bogo said, eyeing the fox with irritation.

"Well, is this enough detail for you?" Nick said as Zach walked into the room, a look of shock appeared on Bogo's face.

"Hey there!" Zach said, giving a small smile.

 **...**

 **~Oooh cliffhanger, kinda. What'll be Bogo's reaction? Well, you're gonna find out soon! Thank you guys for all your support, I got a review that told me that I could inspire people to write, and I just sat there like o.O I never saw myself as an inspiration, but I guess I am one kinda? It's really touching to see that some people are inspired by me. Before I start rambling on, I'll leave this chapter of The Secret of Zootopia here. Leave feedback if you have any thoughts, it's always appreciated. Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

"Hopps? Wilde? You caught the creature?" Chief Bogo asked his two officers.

"Well, not necessarily caught, but..." Nick began saying, not knowing exactly how to form his explanation.

"Befriended." Judy said confidently, which caused a look of bewilderment and anger to form on the chief's face.

"You two...befriended...an unknown species, that nobody knows anything about? Like how deadly it can become? Are you insane!?" Chief Bogo yelled, causing Judy's ears to flatten on top of her head.

"But sir..." Judy was interrupted by Bogo slamming his fist against his desk, causing all three of them to jump.

"No buts, Officer Hopps. The decision you two made a huge risk! You could have started some sort of epidemic, or he could just start attacking everyone! He could just be acting nice for the time being! I could have you two fired for this kind of recklessness!" Chief yelled at the two officers, who's eyes widened at the mention of being fired. Anger started bubbling up inside of Zach, but he wasn't going to let his anger get the best of him.

"Sir, I assure you that-" Zach started to say.

"Shut your mouth, you don't get a say in this." Bogo said coldly. Anger was finally at its tipping point for Zach, who clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"You know what!? I tried to be polite, and I hoped that it wouldn't be a problem, but you're just plain out speciesist! I came here believing that I would get a couple of weird stares from animals and that's it, but NO! I get beaten half to death by rocks and left on the cold hard concrete! I would've been dead if it wasn't for these two!" Zach yelled, his eyes filled with rage.

"Look! I don't know wh-" Chief Bogo started, only to be cut off by Zach slamming both his hands on the wooden desk.

"Oh ho, I KNOW who I am! It's YOU that doesn't know who I am! You have the nerve to say all that bullshit about me without even meeting me, you threaten to fire the two best, and least speciesist officers here, which is the funniest damn thing! Do you know why? Because this is ZOOTOPIA! The place that strives to have all mammals be treated equally! Well, I'm definitely a mammal, and was I treated equally? NO! Don't you think if I was a threat, I would've killed Nick and Judy by now, that I would've fought back when I was practically STONED and humiliated in public. But I didn't, because I believed that everyone here would've been at least okay with me being here. BUT I WAS WRONG! You're okay with treating other species of mammals with respect, but when I come into the picture, everyone just SO HAPPENS to overlook the very slogan of this city, 'Where ANYone can be anything.'" Zach finally finished his anger induced rant, his face completely red from screaming. Chief Bogo looked completely shocked, Nick and Judy even more. Zach just sighed and calmed himself down.

"Look, I'm sorry for the outburst, okay? I'm just here to show that humans could live here with the other species of mammals peacefully. We're mammals too, so it's only fair that we are able to live here as well. That's the point of this place, and I just didn't appreciate you threatening to fire these two great officers. Especially for something that's basically encouraged here." Zach looked up at Bogo, surprised to see that he had a look of regret.

"Well, you did make some valid points here, some that I failed to notice myself. You're a lot tougher than any of us initially thought. Look, I owe all three of you an apology, especially you, Zach was it?" Chief Bogo inquired, and Zach nodded. "I was being ignorant, and going against the sole purpose of the city." Bogo confessed.

"Thank you sir." Zach said, almost all of the anger had dissipated from his body.

"But, just to be sure, I'll have to call in a epidemiologist. I just want to ensure the safety of the citizens." Chief Bogo stated, and Zach nodded understandingly.

"Of course." Zach said, back to his normal, polite self.

"Hopps, Wilde. Please stay with Zach until the epidemiologist gets here. After that you two are allowed to start your shifts." Chief Bogo told Judy and Nick.

"Yes sir!" Judy said, saluting the chief.

"You got it, Chief." Nick stated, smiling at the buffalo. The three of them walked out of Chief Bogo's office. Once they had walked far enough away from the office, Judy immediately hugged Zach. Well, his legs, actually.

"Zach, that was amazing! I've never seen Chief admit that he was wrong, let alone to a stranger." Judy said, amazed by Zach's actions.

"Yeah, I never thought you'd get that angry. Chief actually looked a little scared for a moment there. The way you just slammed your hands down on his desk was awesome." Nick smiled at the human.

"I wish it didn't have to come to that though. The only times I usually have an outburst like that is when people are being rude or telling lies about anyone, not just me. I had to stop doing that when I got to high school though, so I had a LOT of anger built up." Zach said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Your anger most likely saved our jobs, so I'm not complaining." Judy said relieved, the three of them started to laugh. After they were done, Zach had remembered to ask about something Judy said.

"Hey" Zach started, getting Judy and Nick's attention. "When you said you befriended me...did you actually...mean it?" The two animals looked at him with shock.

"Of course we did, why wouldn't we mean it?" Judy asked curiously.

"It's not because I don't trust you guys, it's just I've had supposed 'friends' that only wanted to take advantage of me before. I just want to make sure you guys wouldn't do that to me." Zach looked over at Nick and Judy again, Judy had a look of shock once again, but Nick had one of...understanding.

"I remember when I got taken advantage of, it didn't feel nice, I could tell you that much." Nick said, giving Zach a small but pained smile.

"Oh, I remember a time like that too." Judy said, glaring at Nick. Nick looked at Judy and smirked.

"Hey, that was the old me, alright." Nick defended himself, Judy just shaking her head. Zach was confused at his statement.

"What do you mean?" Zach asked Nick curiously, but Judy decided to answer for him.

"Nick used to be a con man." Judy explained. Now it was Zach's turn to be shocked.

"Wow, that's quite a profession change, isn't it?" Zach gave the fox a smile.

"Yep, and I wouldn't of done it without this little fur ball." Nick said, ruffling Judy's fur on the top of her head.

"And I wouldn't have this job if it wasn't for this fur ball." Judy jumped up and ruffled Nick's fur as well.

"And I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for both of you fur balls." Zach stated, ruffling both Nick and Judy's fur on their heads. Nick groaned in annoyance while Judy giggled. The three continued talking before a grey and white coyote with a white lab coat approached them.

"Excuse me, are you Zach?" The coyote asked, and Zach nodded his head.

"Yep, that's me." Zach said, giving the coyote a smile.

"I'm Dr. Caninburg, I'm the epidemiologist." She introduced herself.

"Pleasure to meet you." Zach told her politely, which made her smile.

"I've set up my equipment down in the Forensics department. If you would follow me please." Dr. Caninburg told Zach, who nodded.

"I'll see you guys later." Zach waved his farewell to Judy and Nick, who waved back. Zach followed the Coyote down two flights of stairs before reaching the basement. They kept walking until they saw a door labeled Forensics. The two of them walked into the Forensics department, which contained computers, microscopes, beakers, etc. Dr. Caninburg opened a door to a side room, which contained a chair, a small table next to the chair, and a small counter with a sink and a couple boxes of latex gloves.

"Please take a seat." Dr Caninburg said with a smile, which Zach complied. He placed his backpack on the side of the chair and sat on the uncomfortable piece of furniture.

"Alright," Dr. Caninburg took out a clipboard and a pen. "I'm going to ask you for your name, height, weight, things like that, okay? So we can get you into our system just incase we need to use you for anything else." Zach nodded.

"Alright, sounds easy enough." Zach said.

"What is your first, middle and last name?"

"Zachary Dustin Martineck."

"How old are you?"

"18."

"Date of birth?"

"August 27, 1997"

"Height?"

"5 feet 6 inches,"

"Weight?"

"130 pounds,"

"Eye color?"

"Blue."

"Fur color?"

"Uh, blonde?" Zach wasn't sure about that one, but Dr. Caninburg seemed to accept it.

"Alright, let me take a blood sample and we should be good to go." Dr Caninburg put the clipboard down on the counter, grabbing a pair of latex gloves. She then starting doing the necessary precautions you would expect, putting a tourniquet around Zach's forearm, disinfecting the area where the needle would go, the usual stuff. She grabbed the needle that she would be using, along with a cotton ball.

"You alright with needles?" Dr. Caninburg asked Zach.

"Yeah, I'm fine with them." Zach replied, allowing the Doctor to proceed. The needle pricked his skin, allowing some blood to be taken from his body. Dr. Caninburg took the needle out of his arm, wiping the blood that seeped up with the cotton ball. She applied the bandage and just like that, it was done.

"Alrighty, I'll enter your info and test your blood for any dangerous signs of disease and you should be good to go." Dr Caninburg said with a smile, which Zach returned.

"Thank you." Zach told her as she walked out of the room. Zach was left by himself in the small room, which let him start thinking. He's only been here for about a day, and so many things have happened so quickly. He thought that when he got here, it would take a month to get on his feet, but Nick and Judy had helped him beyond what he thought they would. Now, if he is safe to the public, he'd be able to actually start looking for a job. But then he thought, what if he isn't safe to the public? This caused a look of utter terror to appear on Zach's face. All of the things he's endured, all of the help that Nick and Judy gave him, all in vain. Zach shook his head as told himself to calm down.

"Just...think positive." Zach reminded himself. He took a couple of deep breaths and calmed his racing heart. He sat there for another twenty minutes before Dr. Caninburg came back into the room.

"Alright, Mr. Martineck, your blood seems to be perfectly fine, and no threatening diseases were found in your body, so you are good to go." Dr. Caninburg told him, and Zach couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Caninburg." Zach thanked the coyote, holding out his hand for a shake, to which she accepted. Zach hadn't touched a paw before, so it was a new feeling for him. He was allowed to leave the Forensics department, but when he got into the hall, a realization hit him. Nick and Judy were on duty, and he didn't know how to get back to their apartment.

"So, what to do at a police station for a day..."

 **...**

 **~Hey guys! Here's Chapter 6. Remember how I said I planned out the story by chapters? Turns out that I'm still doing ideas that were going to be in chapter 4, CHAPTER 4! So I think I have more than the next four chapters planned now, maybe up to Chapter 12, I don't know. Either way, more content for you guys. Yay! Anyway, leave some feedback if you have any questions, it's always appreciated. Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

Zach walked through the ZPD station, not sure on what he could do. As he reached the main lobby once more, he decided to talk to the only other mammal that was nice to him.

"Clawhauser, hey!" Zach shouted, getting the cheetah's attention. Clawhauser looked up from his desk, donut crumbs around his mouth.

"Hey Zach!" Clawhauser greeted. "Where were you?"

"Well, I had to take a blood test, and I was deemed safe enough to live here!" Zach said excitedly.

"O. M. Goodness! That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!" Clawhauser said, looking like he was going to jump out of his seat.

"Thanks." Zach couldn't help but chuckle at Clawhauser's excitement. "Anyway, do you know when Nick and Judy get back? I'm kinda stranded here until then."

"Usually they have an all day shift, but it's a slow day. Maybe Chief'll let them get off earlier." Clawhauser explained, and Zach nodded, remembering the 'conversation' he had with him earlier.

"He better, especially after I talked to him earlier." Zach muttered.

"You mean screaming match?" Clawhauser asked, which made Zach's eyes widen in horror.

"You heard me?" Zach squeaked.

"I think the entire station heard you." Clawhauser said, causing Zach's face to go red with embarrassment. Zach just put his head on the desk and covered his head.

"Oh god, whhyyyyyy..." Zach groaned, wishing that he didn't have that outburst.

"Hey, it's okay buddy. If anything, people are going to congratulate you. Nobody has stood up to him, and you walk in and make it look easy." Clawhauser said, sticking a donut into his mouth.

"Fair point, I guess." Zach lifted his head up. "Hey, do you mind if I sit here with you until Judy and Nick's shift is over?"

"Sure, I could use a conversation buddy." Clawhauser said with a smile. Zach smiled back and the two of them began talking. In the middle of their conversation, Zach began sketching in his sketchbook while Clawhauser did some paperwork.

"So, where are you from?" Clawhauser asked Zach.

"Well, all of the humans live in this settlement that's really well hidden. It's surrounded by mountains and really tall trees cover all of the buildings, so it's REALLY hidden." Zach explained, sketching away on the paper.

"What's it like there?" Clawhauser asked curiously.

"Y'know those stereotypical small towns on tv? It's like that but it has 300,000 people in it." Zach said.

"Whoa, that's a lot of you guys. I'm surprised no one found you." Clawhauser stated, writing down something on his paperwork. Clawhauser looked over in Zach's direction, curious about what he was doing. When Zach noticed him watching, he quickly covered it up.

"Hey, no peeking." Zach said, and Clawhauser let out an 'awww'.

"Why?" Clawhauser asked, putting emphasis on the 'y'.

"Because, it's a surprise, and it's not done yet." Zach said, looking at the cheetah with a smirk. Clawhauser continued with his work but felt Zach look at him from time to time. Every time he tried to look at the drawing, Zach covered it up. After about 5 minutes, Zach put his pencil down and held the sketchbook towards his chest.

"Alright, you wanna see?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, I've been trying to see it for the past five minutes. I finished the rest of my donuts in excitement." Clawhauser held up an empty donut box.

"Alright...boom!" Zach said, turning the sketch pad towards Clawhauser, who screamed like a fan girl.

"Oh my god, it's me!" Clawhauser said excitedly. Zach had drawn a very realistic picture of the cheetah, down to the little details.

"Yep, I thought it would be cool to draw you." Zach smiled.

"It's amazing! How did you learn how to draw like that?" Clawhauser asked, still amazed by the picture of himself.

"I took an art class for all 4 years of high school, you'd learn a lot." Zach explained, and Clawhauser just stared at the picture in awe. "Here, you can have it." Zach carefully tore out the page and handed it to Clawhauser.

"Really? Thanks!" Clawhauser beamed with happiness. Just then the phone start ringing, which Clawhauser immediately picked up.

"Hello, this is ZPD...Yes, what is it chief?...Alright, I'll tell them right away." Clawhauser than hung up the phone. "Looks like Nick and Judy have a shortened shift."

"Alright, cool. My legs are starting to get stiff." Zach said relieved while Clawhauser picked up his walkie talkie.

"Officer Hopps? Officer Wilde?" Clawhauser said into the walkie talkie.

"Yes Clawhauser?" Judy's voice came in through the speaker.

"Chief said you can end your shift, it's a slow day again."

"Alright, we're on our way back. Is Zach still there?" Judy asked.

"Yep, he's still here. He's been keeping me company." Clawhauser responded.

"Alright, we'll be there shortly." Judy said before Clawhauser put down the walkie talkie. The two of them talked until Nick and Judy arrived, Nick being covered with dirt.

"Uh, Nick?" Zach asked, stifling his laughter.

"Don't ask." Nick muttered, crossing his arms. Judy giggled and looked at Zach.

"So, I'm guessing that the reason you're still here is...?" Judy gave Zach a hopeful smile.

"I'm able to live here!" Zach finished, and Judy hugged him.

"That's great!" Judy exclaimed, Nick even gave Zach a smile.

"Yep, I'm so excited!" Zach said, stopping himself from jumping up and down like a little kid.

"Alright, can we get going? I wanna get this dirt out of my fur." Nick groaned, and Zach and Judy just laughed a little.

"Okay, let's go." Judy said, motioning for Zach and Nick to follow her.

"See ya, Clawhauser!" Zach waved goodbye to the cheetah.

"Bye Zach! Thanks for the picture!" Clawhauser waved goodbye as well, looking slightly saddened by Zach's departure. As the trio made it outside, Judy decided to speak up.

"What were you doing all day?" Judy asked.

"Not much, just talking with Clawhauser mostly. I didn't want to go anywhere else 'cause I knew I'd get lost." Zach explained.

"You talked with Clawhauser for 6 hours? I can barely manage 6 seconds." Nick said surprised, Judy elbowing him in the side.

Zach shrugged, "He reminded me of one of my old friends, he acted the same exact way." They noticed that they were in front of the subway entrance. Just before they entered, a high pitched scream rang out. Zach, Nick, and Judy looked in the direction of the scream to see a brown wolf grabbing a pig woman's purse before charging down the the street. Judy and Nick went into action, chasing after the brown wolf. What Nick and Judy didn't expect was Zach to run past them, going after the wolf. They looked on in awe as Zach bobbed and weaved through the mammals on the sidewalk, gaining on the wolf rather quickly. The wolf looked back at Zach to give a look of terror, not expecting to see a furless creature chasing him. To try to lose Zach he darted into an alleyway, but Zach didn't lose any ground. The wolf was starting to get desperate, knocking down a bunch of garbage cans that sat in the alleyway. Zach easily vaulted over them. There was a chain-length fence at the end of the alleyway, which the brown wolf attempted to climb up.

"Oh no you don't!" Zach yelled, yanking the wolf down my his tail. He yelped as he fell, dropping the purse in the process. Zach picked up the purse before the wolf could, holding the wolf's arms behind his back. Shortly after, Nick and Judy arrived on the scene. They were surprised to see that Zach had caught the wolf, who was cowering on the cold concrete.

"Here you go." Zach threw the purse over to Nick. "And here you go." Zach picked the wolf off the ground and shoved him over to Judy, who proceeded to put handcuffs on him. "And don't think about running, either. You know what'll happen if you do." Zach gave a death glare to the wolf, who starting shaking.

"Alright, you two give that lady her purse back, I got Wolfy here." Judy said, Zach still staring at the wolf.

"And if you thought I was scary, I wouldn't try to run from Officer Hopps here, she's one hell of a cop. Do you understand me?" Zach glared at the wolf, who nodded his head vigorously. "Good. Carry on then." Zach smiled at Judy, who nodded and began to bring the thief to the ZPD. Once Judy and the wolf were out of the alley, Nick looked at Zach with a surprised expression.

"Okay, how did you do that?" Nick asked, the two of them starting to walk down the alleyway.

"You'd be surprised by what four years of doing track and field could give you." Zach said, not even showing signs of being winded.

"Jeez, what can't you do. You're an artist, you completely burned Bogo, and now you catch a thief." Nick said, playfully punching the human in the arm. Zach just shrugged.

"Just stuff I learned at school. Art class, speech, and track and field." Zach said nonchalantly.

"Maybe I should've paid more attention in school." Nick said, thinking back to his high school days. They shared a laugh and continued walking until they reached a distressed pig woman.

"Here you go, ma'am." Nick said, handing the purse back to the woman.

"You got it back? Thank you, officer." The woman thanked Nick.

"Actually, my friend here was the one who took the guy down." Nick said, patting Zach on the back.

"Really?" The woman asked.

"Well, yeah, but it wasn't a big deal." Zach said, trying to get the attention off him.

"You're a cop?" The woman asked curiously.

"No, I just wanted to help, it was the right thing to do." Zach gave her a gentle smile.

"Oh, bless you. I heard rumors about you being dangerous, but I can see now that they aren't true. Thank you so much." The woman thanked them before going about her day.

"That felt great, an animal actually thinking I'm a nice guy. And I helped someone out too." Zach seemed to beam with happiness.

"It is a good feeling, isn't it?" Nick said with a smile. Zach looked around at the many animals that walked down the sidewalks.

"Yeah...it is." Zach smiled with pride.

 **...**

 **~Chapter 7 is up! Damn, Zach is a badass! Yeah, but in all seriousness, when I looked at my story statistics today, this story has 2,800+ views. I may or may not of started freaking out...a lot. Thank you guys so much, I never expected this much attention on this story, my first Zootopia story no less. Anyway, before I start getting emotional, leave some feedback to tell me how I'm doing. Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

Zach, Nick and Judy were all sitting on the couch, Nick flicking through the channels in search for something to watch. All three of them had agreed to just relax for the rest of the day, so they just decided to watch tv. They were all sitting in silence until Judy spoke up.

"Hey, wait. Go back." Judy told Nick, which he complied. The station before it was a news channel, and it was broadcasting...Zach?

"We've been getting several reports of civilians seeing the same furless creature around the downtown area, the same creature even seen with two Zootopia police officers. Which begs the question, is this creature dangerous?" The tiger news anchor asked.

"Nope." Zach muttered, obviously not enjoying this newscast.

"Well, this next clip proves otherwise. Let's take a look." The news was then switched over to a video, most likely taken by an animal across the street. The video showed Zach chasing the wolf down the street before going into an alleyway, where the camera couldn't see him any more. The video was then cut to when Zach and Nick returned the purse to the pig woman, where it abruptly ended. The camera was once again on the news anchor.

"So, after this clip was sent in to us, it got us asking if this creature was working with the ZPD. We had asked Chief Bogo of ZPD Precinct 1 this same question, here is what he had to say." The camera was then switched over to Chief Bogo standing at a podium, a dozen microphones attached to it.

"No, he is not working for the ZPD. But I assure you, he doesn't mean harm in any way." Chief Bogo stated, causing Zach to release his anxiety. The camera was back on the anchor once more.

"So is the chief right? Is this creature harmless? Or is it one big cover up? Stay tuned with us to find out more." Nick decided to change the channel after this was said by the anchor. Zach let out a shaky breath.

"Well, that was...nerve wracking for me." Zach said, trying to calm himself down.

"At least Chief Buffalo Butt had your back." Nick said with a smirk.

"Yeah, I don't know how I'd feel about the entire city charging at me with pitchforks and torches." Zach said, giving a nervous laugh.

"I wouldn't let them do that to you." Judy said, patting Zach on his knee. Zach just looked at her and gave a thankful smile.

"Let's watch something less anxiety- inducing." Nick stated, flicking through the channels once again. While Nick was doing this, Zach felt something in his pocket. He reached into his pants pocket to feel a rectangular object.

'My phone?' Zach thought to himself. He pulled it out, and sure enough it was his phone. He had completely forgot he had it. He pressed the power button, his lock screen picture was of him and his mother, smiling together for a selfie. Zach looked at the picture with a sad smile.

"You have a phone?" Judy asked him, which made Nick take his attention off of the tv.

"Yeah? Why?" Zach asked curiously.

"I didn't think you would have those, considering that your species was isolated." Nick told him.

"Well, you see. Humans kinda 'borrowed' some technology off of other mammals for about 60 years, and we were able to reverse engineer almost everything you guys have." Zach explained, looking at his phone again, another pang of sadness in his heart.

"Wow, so your society is exactly like ours?" Judy asked, fascinated by this new discovery.

"Well, maybe we're a few years behind, but pretty close." Zach said, turning on the phone again. His mother's face was staring back at him again, but this time, Zach had a fox and a rabbit looking at her.

"Who's that?" Nick asked, pointing at the screen.

"My mom, we were at home and I was trying to explain to her how to use the camera on her phone." Zach smiled fondly at the memory. His mother had been really happy that day, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement. She had gotten a smartphone like Zach's, and wanted Zach to help her with it. "It was a good day." Zach slid the screen over to put in his password when he stopped himself. He put his phone close to his chest and put in the code.

"Just so no one gets any funny ideas." Zach glared jokingly at both of them, who just rolled their eyes. The home menu popped up, and Nick and Judy looked at it with awe.

"It looks so similar!" Judy stated, and she would be right. Nick took notice of the music icon on the front page.

"What kind of music does your species have?" Nick asked curiously. Zach looked slightly uncomfortable at the question, but answered anyway.

"Well, we don't have our own music, we listen to music that Zootopia produces. We just had our phones connect to Zootopia's radio signals." Zach explained, Nick and Judy had expressions of shock.

"Wow, if that's not hustling, I don't know what is." Nick said, giving a smirk.

"It's not just that, we get Zootopia's tv stations and GPS signals too." Zach said and both of their jaws dropped.

"Wow, we're the reason they have all of this." Judy concluded.

"That's another reason why I came here. To show them that leeching off of everyone else is wrong and that we should contribute." Zach said, clicking on the music app.

"That's a pretty good message to spread." Judy told Zach. Judy noticed that the music app was open on his phone. "What kind of music do you listen to anyway?"

"Well, you'd think that if I'm an artist I'd need calming music to inspire me, right?" Zach asked, and Nick and Judy nodded. Right after, 'The Pretender' by Fur Fighters started playing. "So, I listen to rock."

"That's definitely a surprise." Nick said, smiling.

"Oh I'm full of surprises and you know that." Zach said, nudging Nick with his elbow. Judy just laughed. After listening to a couple more Fur Fighters songs, they settled down and watched a movie. Zach didn't know what the movie was about, but Nick and Judy seemed to be into it. Not necessarily liking the movie, Zach resorted to sketching in his sketchbook. Nick and Judy continued to watch the movie, Zach sketching away, everything was peaceful. Zach needed this peaceful moment, especially after everything that happened. He began thinking about all of the events that occurred in the course of almost two days. He came to Zootopia, was beaten with rocks, saved by Nick and Judy, who had given him a place to stay, had a "talk" with Chief Bogo, befriended a chubby cheetah, stopped a criminal, and now he was back in the apartment of the two animals that made all of it happen. Zach started to feel a little emotional, feeling undeserving of all the kindness he'd received. He remembered what Nick said the first day he was here, that it was okay to let out his feelings. He took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Hey Nick, Judy?" Zach started, getting the fox and rabbit's attention.

"Yeah?" Judy responded.

"What's up?" Nick asked.

"Thank you, for everything. You guys have done everything for me, you saved me from being beaten to death, you've let me stay in your home, you guys helped me get allowed to live in this city, you've done all these things for someone you barely know. You could've just left me in that plaza at the start, but you didn't. I just feel so...undeserving of all this. I feel like I'm just a big freeloader, I can't even give you guys anything in return." Zach couldn't help but let a couple of tears roll down his cheeks. He didn't bother wiping them, he was too worried about what Nick and Judy would say. Zach expected them to realize this and tell him to leave, but he got the exact opposite. He felt Judy AND Nick hug him. Nick was a surprise to him more, since he didn't seem like the 'physical contact' type.

"Hey, hey, Zach. It's okay." Nick started, attempting to calm him down. "There's no need for tears."

"Yeah, if you cry, I'll cry." Judy said, sounding like she was holding back tears.

"Look, I know I was hesitant at first about you. But now I realize how good of a guy you are. You care about others more than yourself, you can stand your ground if you need to, not to mention that your polite and easy to talk to. I'm glad we helped you, you've been a great friend to us. You've definitely made mine and Carrot's lives more exciting." Nick told Zach, giving him a caring smile.

"And you're not a freeloader. I'm sure if you could give us something, you would for sure. Besides, you being here is already repaying the favor." Judy told him.

"Don't worry so much about being a problem, because your not." Nick looked Zach in the eyes, wiping his tears with his paw. Zach gave a weak smile, feeling tears of joy coming on.

"You guys are the best." Zach sniffled, wrapping his arms around both Nick and Judy. "Thank you."

"No problem, Zach. It's alright." Judy said. Zach broke the embrace, he was significantly calmer than before.

"I'm gonna use the bathroom real quick." Zach said, standing up. He put his sketchbook and pencil on the coffee table before heading towards the bathroom. Once Zach was in the bathroom, Nick and Judy took notice of the open sketchbook on the table. Both of them looked at what was drawn on the page, and were shocked to see that Zach had drawn both of them, almost down to exact detail. Everything was shaded in very realistically, it looked like they were looking at a photo with a black and white filter. On the bottom of the page, the words 'For Judy and Nick' written in neat handwriting. Judy couldn't hold her tears in any longer, letting a few roll down her cheeks.

"Oh, he's so sweet." Judy said, picking up the sketch pad.

"I guess he knew he couldn't buy us anything, so he made us this." Nick said. Despite not showing his feelings as often as others would, he was very touched by this simple picture. Judy held the sketchbook close to her chest, cherishing it. Both Nick and Judy knew that they did the right thing taking the poor 18 year old in, and they'll never forget this moment.

 **...**

 **~Aw, this chapter hit me right in the feels. This is more or less a filler chapter for what's going to happen next (hint hint). Also, I've been getting reviews from people who also did humans in Zootopia stories, some who I was inspired by to write this one. Having people who inspired me to write this now complimenting my story, it's a great feeling to have. Anyway, please leave some feedback so I know how I'm doing. Thanks!**

 **Edit: Sorry I took this chapter down earlier, the website was being weird :P**


	9. Chapter 9

After the events that had occurred the previous night, Nick and Judy agreed just to let Zach sleep in today. Nick and Judy got up at the usual time, 5:30am, and prepared for their usual shift. They had their breakfast, their usual cup of coffee, and were ready to go.

"Alright, Nick! You ready?" Judy asked the fox, who was putting an empty mug into the sink.

"As ready as I'll ever be, Carrots." He said, still having a sluggish tone of voice. Nick walked over towards Judy, who was standing by the front door. She opened the front door and walked out, but before Nick did, he glanced back at Zach. He was sleeping on the couch peacefully, and Nick couldn't help but smile a little.

"Sometime today, Nicholas." Judy said in annoyance, tapping her foot in impatience.

"Alright, alright. Don't get your tail in a twist." Nick said, walking out the front door. The two of them talked and joked as they usually did, until they got to the subway. There they got some stares from other animals, probably recognizing them from the news the night before. After about 15 minutes of awkward stares, the two officers made it to ZPD. When Nick and Judy walked through the door, Clawhauser immediately spotted them.

"Hey guys!" Clawhauser greeted in his usual bubbly voice.

"Hey Clawhauser." Judy said back with a smile, Nick giving a simple wave.

"Where's Zach?" The cheetah asked curiously, munching on a pink frosted donut.

"Oh, we let him sleep in. He needed it after yesterday." Judy explained, and the cheetah nodded.

"Oh, before I forget! You remember the wolf you brought in yesterday? Turns out he was wanted for 3 robberies and an assault charge." Clawhauser said, finishing another donut.

"Wow, really?" Judy asked, not believing what Clawhauser said. The cheetah nodded, confirming what he said was true.

"And Zach took him down just like that." Nick said, snapping his fingers.

"Yeah, I saw that on the news yesterday!" He took a bite of the donut. "Y'know, he'd make a pretty good cop." Clawhauser said, his voice muffled by the donut in his mouth.

"Make a pretty good cop..." Judy whispered, a thought starting to form in her head.

"Oh god, she has that face, she's got an idea-" Nick started.

"That's it! Zach wanted to show that humans can survive here, no better way than become a police officer!" Judy said, jumping up and down with excitement.

"Whoa, slow down fluff butt. Are you sure that's a good idea?" Nick asked with an uncertain expression.

"Yeah, if he becomes a cop, people would trust him, and he wouldn't have any problems. Plus, the station was looking for another sketch artist anyway, so it's perfect for him!" Judy said, getting more excited as the seconds went by.

"I guess you have a point there." Nick said, slowly but surely warming up to the idea.

"Of course I do, when have I been wrong?" Judy smiled confidently.

"Uh..."

"Don't answer that, c'mon!" Judy grabbed Nick by his wrist practically dragging him all the way to Chief Bogo's office. Nick tried to get her to let go, but she had a grip like a vice.

"Jeez, your gonna break my wrist." Nick said, wincing at the pain in his wrist caused by Judy's death grip.

"Man up." Was the only thing Judy said to him as they reached Chief Bogo's office. Once they were there, Judy knocked on the door. They heard some fumbling along with what seemed to be one of Gazelle's songs before Chief's voice was heard.

"Come in!" He said, and Judy pushed the door open slowly, poking her head inside.

"Chief?" Judy asked.

"Yes, what is it Hopps? I'm very busy at the moment." Chief Bogo asked, slightly irritated.

"I'm guessing you know about the video of Zach taking down that wolf." Judy inquired, trying not to irritate the buffalo.

"Yes, so?" Chief asked once more, still unsure about why she was here.

"Now, I know you said Zach didn't work for the ZPD, but maybe it..." Judy hesitated for a moment, "...won't be a bad idea."

"So, you're saying that I should hire a recently discovered creature to the force? I don't know how the public would react to that." He said, giving Judy an unsure glare.

"C'mon, it's a great idea! If he's an officer, people are going to trust him a lot more, which is less panic for the city as well as for Zach himself. It's a win win situation." Judy tried to persuade Bogo. He looked like he was thinking about it, a look of hope appearing on Judy's face. "Also, he said he did four years of track and field and he can sketch people very well, so he could be that new sketch artist we're looking for!"

"Alright, alright. I'll think about it, Hopps. Just leave me to my work, I'll tell you after your shift." Bogo said. Judy was disappointed that he didn't answer right away, but was still hopeful by the fact he'd think about it. She quickly left the office and noticed Nick standing beside the doorway.

"Why didn't you come in with me?" Judy asked, glaring at the smiling fox.

"It was your idea, I didn't want to get screamed at for your mistake." Nick said.

"Well, he said he'd think about it." Judy said, sticking her tongue out at Nick. Nick just rolled his eyes, chuckling at the bunny's immaturity. The two partners continued on with their usual shift, which seemed to go by impossibly slow for the both of them. I mean, parking duty was the most exciting thing in the world, right?

 **...**

Zach's eyes fluttered open, the first thing he saw was the white ceiling of Nick and Judy's apartment. He sat up groggily and stretched his arms over his head, which caused a popping sound to come from his shoulders. He was slightly confused on why Judy didn't wake him up, but he shrugged it off. He picked up his phone from the coffee table, looking for the time. He was shocked to see that it was 1:57 PM!

"I guess they let me sleep in...a lot." Zach chuckled to himself, standing up from the couch. As if on cue, his stomach growled, signaling that it needed to be filled. Zach walked over to his backpack and opened the middle pocket, which held all of his food he brought with. He got a granola bar and a warm water bottle from the bag and took a seat at the kitchen table. It's not the ideal breakfast, but Zach felt odd eating Nick and Judy's food without asking. Besides, a granola bar usually filled him up anyway, which was surprising. After he practically inhaled his breakfast, he decided to take a shower. He grabbed a pair of black and blue shorts and a blue t-shirt, along with socks and underwear. He walked to the bathroom and quickly started up the shower. He let the cool water wake him up a bit before he started washing himself.

After he rinsed himself off and got out of the shower, he quickly put on the clothes he picked out. As he walked out into the living room again, he was dumbfounded on what he wanted to do. He knew he didn't have any money to actually go someplace, so he just decided to take a walk outside. Zach walked out the front door, making his way down stairs and out the front doors of the apartment building. Sure, it wasn't the "best" or "safest" plan in the world, but who doesn't like risks?

"Just around the block, don't go too far." Zach reminded himself as he walked down the streets of Zootopia. Even though the newscast the day before clearly showed Zach being a nice guy, he still got many weird stares towards him. That wasn't the thing that bothered him for the most part, it was what some of the things mammals said as he walked by them.

"Disgusting."

"Abomination."

"Freak."

"Nature's Mistake."

That last one had hit Zach the hardest, causing him to just look at the ground. Despite there being less people saying things to him, the hostility of the words some did say skyrocketed. He knew that this was a bad idea, he made things worse for himself. He continued walking, counting the cracks on the sidewalk as he passed them. He failed to notice that a rhino had stopped in front of him, causing Zach to run right into him.

"Hey, watch it!" The rhino said, his voice sounding familiar for some reason.

"S-Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." Zach apologized to the rhino, causing the rhino to turn around.

"Oh, lookie what we have here. Y'know, I should've stoned you when I had the chance." The rhino said menacingly, causing something to click in Zach's mind.

'The rhino that started the stoning,' Zach remembered, fear suddenly taking over.

"Well, I never thought I'd get a second chance." The rhino said, his voice sounding sinister. That was Zach's cue to run, and he took off down the street. He didn't need to turn around to know that the rhino was following him, he felt the ground shake for every step the rhino took. Zach was happy that his track and field class was finally useful for once, as he was able to weave between the animals on the sidewalk with ease. The longer he ran, the quieter the rhino's footsteps got. He was getting away! After a little while longer, he finally managed to get back to Nick and Judy's apartment. He flew through the front door, making it up the stairs in the matter of seconds. He made it back to the apartment, quickly swinging the door open and shutting it tight. Zach stood with his back against the door, his breathing quick and sharp.

"Well...that...was fun..." Zach said sarcastically, trying to catch his breath. That was a really bad decision on his part, he nearly got crushed by a rhino with a vengeance. Deciding that he hated risk, he sat down on the couch and decided to watch tv. Not long after, he managed to fall asleep once more, the running he did exhausting him.

 **...**

Judy and Nick got out of their police cruiser, Judy practically running towards the station as fast as her legs could carry her. She desperately wanted to know if Zach could become an officer, and she couldn't wait any longer. Her and Nick had written almost four hundred tickets during their shift. Four. Hundred. Tickets. To say that Judy was antsy about Chief Bogo's answer would be an understatement. She burst through the front doors, waving a quick greeting to Clawhauser as she went by. Nick on the other hand just casually walked in, not feeling up to going after Judy. When Judy made it to Bogo's office, she knocked on the door excitedly.

"Come in!" Bogo's voice was heard from behind the door. Judy quickly pushed the door open, entering his office.

"Chief, it's the end of my shift! Did you make a decision?" Judy asked, her foot thumping in anticipation. Bogo let out an annoyed sigh rubbing his temple with his fingers.

"Alright, fine. I'll let him join. Pick up an application from Clawhauser." The buffalo said, just wanting to get Judy out of his office.

"Yes! Thank you chief! I can't wait to tell him!" Judy said, seeming about to explode with excitement.

"No one's stopping you, go, go, get out." Bogo said, gesturing towards the door. Judy got the hint and ran out of his office, rushing all the way back down to the main lobby. When she saw Nick, who was chatting with Clawhauser, she ran up to him and almost tackled him to the floor.

"Whoa! Carrots, calm down. You bunnies can get so worked up." Nick said, patting Judy on the head.

"Nick, chief said yes! Zach can become a police officer!" Judy said, the teasing smirk Nick had turning into an excited smile.

"Wow, really? Never knew he'd actually do that." Nick said, moderately surprised of the chief's actions.

"O. M. Goodness. He can! That's so awesome!" Clawhauser said, trying to calm himself before he starts squealing in excitement.

"I know, I'm so excited! Clawhauser! I need an application!" Judy said quickly. Clawhauser looked in one of the drawers of the desk and pulled out an application, handing it to Judy.

"Thanks!" Judy thanked the cheetah as she grabbed Nick by the wrist, going towards the exit.

"Not again!" Nick groaned before he was dragged along by Judy all the way back to their apartment.

 **...**

 **~Chapter! Here it is! You like? Why am I talking like this? I'm just hyped on how much attention this story is getting. It has 4,200+ views now, and I had a mini heart attack. I'm just a 14 year old social recluse writing fanfics on the Internet, that people somehow enjoy...I'm confused. But before I get sidetracked any more than I am, I need to inform all of you guys. I'm starting school tomorrow, but not just a normal school year, my freshman year of high school. I'm not sure how much time I'll have for writing, so this is why this chapter is longer than usual. I'll try to update as much as I can, but just know updates are going to be spaced out farther now. Anyway, leave some feedback to let me know how I did. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

Judy bursted through her and Nick's apartment door, excitement coursing through her body. She spotted Zach sleeping on the couch, and immediately jumped on top of him and started hopping on his chest.

"Zach! Wakeupwakeupwakeupwakeup!" Judy yelled, causing Zach to awake with surprise.

"Okay! Okay! I'm up! Stop trying to break my sternum!" Zach yelled, trying to get the excited bunny to calm herself. Nick looked on at the situation from the doorway, a smirk on his face. Judy noticed that he was up and jumped off of him.

"Sorry! I just got amazing news!" Judy squealed in excitement.

"Really? What?" Zach asked, feeling his chest for any bruises as he sat up.

"Well, you know how you were looking for a job?" Judy asked, and Zach nodded.

"Yeah, why?" Zach asked in slight confusion.

"Well, what if I told you that you were able to become a POLICE OFFICER!" Judy finally said, shouting towards the end of her sentence. Zach looked at her with widened eyes, an unbelieving expression on his face.

"You're messing with me, aren't you?" Zach said, not believing what Judy had said.

"She wouldn't have tried to crush your chest if she was joking." Nick stated, walking over to Zach and sitting next to him on the couch.

"And besides, maybe this application is enough proof!" Judy said, holding up the application she got from Clawhauser. Zach was handed the application, which he confirmed that it was an application from the ZPD. When he realized that he could possibly become a police officer, he was overjoyed. So much, in fact, that he scooped up Judy and hugged her.

"Thank you so much!" Zach thanked her, while Judy giggled.

"You're welcome, Zach. It seemed like you were perfect for the job." Judy said while Zach placed her back on the ground.

"You guys have done too much for me, and once I get some money I'm giving you guys something back for sure." Zach told them, looking over the application fondly.

"Hey, we said you didn't need to get us anything." Nick stated, looking at Zach.

"And you honestly thought I'd listen?" Zach replied, causing Nick to just smirk at him. "Y'know what? I'm gonna fill this out right now. I'm too excited to not do it." Zach said, pulling out a pencil from his pocket.

"So, you just have pencils in your pockets?" Judy asked curiously, and Zach chuckled.

"When you're an artist, you always have to be prepared." Zach smiled and placed the piece of paper on the coffee table. He read the first inquiry, which was his first, last name, and middle initial, which he wrote down 'Zachary Martineck' and 'D'.

"Sounds fancy." Nick said, him and Judy watching him fill it out.

"What does the D stand for?" Judy asked curiously.

"Dustin." Zach said nonchalantly, and the bunny nodded. The next question asked was if he was a citizen of Zootopia.

"I'd be a citizen technically, right?" Zach asked and Nick and Judy both nodded. Next was his height and weight, which he put down '5"6' and '130 lbs' respectively. After this, there were two boxes, one for predator, one for prey. Zach wasn't sure what he should put for this one, so he put down predator just to be safe. Species was the next question, so he just quickly write down human.

The next one asked what he was applying for, to which he checked police officer. The rest of the questions were his special skills and if he'd been arrested before, which everyone already knew. The final thing he had to do was sign his name at the bottom, which he did.

"And done!" Zach said, placing his pencil down. "I can't believe this is happening!"

"I know, it's amazing how quick things can happen." Nick said with a smile.

"It all just went by so fast, just a few days ago we met you in that plaza." Judy said, hugging Zach's side.

"I know, it's so hard to believe. I knew that I made a good choice coming here. It may have its ups and downs, but I think it'll be okay." Zach gave Nick and Judy a smile, which they returned. The three of them after this ate dinner, which Nick actually decided to cook. When they were eating, Judy explained what would happen after they sent his application in. He'd go to the training camp for about 4 months, having to pass all of the requirements to graduate from the academy. Zach had his doubts, but he believed that he had what it takes to be a cop, or at least try his very best. After dinner, Zach insisted that he could clean the dishes, but Judy told him that it was fine. Since he couldn't do that, he decided to just go out on the balcony that was connected to the living room. There he looked around at the city below him, all of the bustling animals trying to get home. He then looked up at the night sky, looking at all the stars that were there. He smiled sadly at the sky, knowing that his father was looking down on him the whole time.

"I'm making you proud, huh dad?" Zach whispered to himself, knowing that his father wanted the best for him. Zach knew that he wanted to do this, maybe his plans were slightly different than what happened, but he still had a chance of making something of himself, to prove that humans shouldn't be afraid anymore. That was a pretty big responsibility he put on himself, and he was actually managing to do it. Well, he wasn't alone of course. Nick and Judy helped him so much over the past 3 days, he didn't know how to repay them. Zach was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice Nick standing in the doorway.

"Hello? Earth to Zach?" Nick said, snapping Zach back to reality.

"Oh, sorry! What did you say?" Zach asked.

"What're you doing out here?" Nick asked curiously, confused by the fact that Zach was out on the balcony.

"Just...thinking." Zach replied, looking up at the sky again.

"About what?" Nick asked, still wondering why he was out here.

"My dad." Zach replied, his tone sounded slightly depressed. "I know he'd be proud of me if he was still here, he's the one that jumpstarted my interest in Zootopia. He wanted to come here so bad, but he always said that he couldn't do it. So, he started encouraging me to do it. I know he's looking down on me, smiling." Zach said, giving a small smile himself. Nick looked at Zach with a look of sympathy.

"Yeah, I know how losing a dad feels like." Nick said, Zach looking over at him with a look of shock and sorrow.

"Oh..." was the only thing Zach could say.

"I never told anyone this, not even Judy. But I know you can relate. When I was 7, foxes weren't exactly treated as normal citizens. Most were criminals, con men, but not my father. My father tried to go against the stereotypes, and he'd been pretty successful too. He owned a pretty successful tie shop. But one day, he was mistaken for a fox from a nearby gang. He was walking down the street, coming home, and he was...gunned down." Nick finally managed to say. "And that's why I wear these ties. They're my dad's." Nick found his eyes watering at the thought of his father, and he tried to hold it in.

"Nick, thanks for telling me. Like you said, you need to let out your emotions." Zach knelt down to the fox's height, opening his arms for a hug. "I know you're trying to hold it back, but you can just let it out. I won't judge you." Zach gave him a gentle smile. Nick let a few stray tears roll down his furred cheeks before accepting the hug. Zach felt Nick start trembling, a whimper or two escaping from him.

"It's alright, it's alright, let it out, Nick." Zach could tell that Nick was holding a lot of pain in. He just kept on letting the waterworks flow, and did that for another minute or two.

"Don't tell Judy about this, I know she'll tease me about it." Nick said, still hugging Zach. While Nick still had his back towards the door, he didn't notice that Judy was standing there. Zach looked at the aforementioned bunny and mouthed 'Don't tease him, please.' Judy nodded, not sure why Nick was crying in the first place. She decided not to question it as she went to her room, most likely going to sleep. After she vanished into her room, Nick broke the embrace with Zach.

"Heh, thanks. I guess I needed that." Nick said, wiping his eyes.

"No problem. If anything's bothering you, you can come to me. And, if something's bothering me I'll go to you, so we can be emotional wrecks together." Zach gave a slight chuckle, causing Nick to smirk.

"That'll be...nice." Nick said, his eyes no longer damp.

"Anyway, it's getting late. I'm gonna get some sleep." Zach said, and Nick nodded.

"Me too. Goodnight Zach." Nick said before heading to his room.

"Goodnight." Zach said, waving to Nick. Once Nick was gone, Zach looked back up at the night sky, smiling.

"Goodnight dad."

 **...**

Two days have passed, and a big thing has happened within this time period. It was the reason why Nick, Judy, and Zach were at a train station as we speak. After submitting his application and waiting for a day and a half, his application was accepted! It was a dream come true for Zach, and he couldn't be happier. After all the prejudice he'd received over the past few days, his future finally looked bright. Granted he had to actually pass the training. Like he said before, he would try his best, and he will succeed. Zach was waiting for his train to arrive, Nick and Judy anxiously waiting as well.

"I can't believe you're going to bootcamp already." Nick smiled, playfully punching Zach in the side.

"I know, it's awesome! I'm actually doing something with myself." Zach gave a nervous, but excited, smile.

"I'm so happy for you, Zach. It's felt like we just met you in that plaza, now you're about to make history!" Judy said, jumping up with excitement.

"I can't thank you guys enough, especially after everything you did for me." Zach said, and Nick rolled his eyes and smiled.

"You say that almost everyday." Nick gave Zach a sly smile.

"And I'll say it 'till I die." Zach chuckled, both Nick and Judy had smiles on their faces.

"Oh, you have both of our numbers in your phone right?" Judy asked for the millionth time.

"Yes, mother." Zach joked. "I still don't get how you got my phone to work here."

"Nick knows a guy." Judy said, smirking at the sly fox.

"That tampers with phones and cell towers?" Zach asked, questioning Nick's choice of acquaintances.

"Didn't say he was a good guy." Nick said, a shit-eating grin on his face. Just then, the sound of a train chugging along the tracks was able to be heard.

"I guess I have to go..." Zach said, a sudden feeling of sadness washing over him.

"Yeah, I guess so..." Judy said, her ears flattening against her head. Zach knelt down and hugged both Judy and Nick, both of them returning the hug.

"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." Zach told them as the train arrived at the station. Zach broke the hug before standing up fully, walking over to the train doors. He entered the train and turned around, waving a last farewell before he left. Nick and Judy both waved back, the bunny seeming to hold back tears. Zach could've sworn he saw Nick's eyes watering as well, but the train had started moving before he could look closer. Zach watched as the station continued to get smaller and smaller, and finally disappearing over the horizon. He sighed and took his seat on the train, calming his already anxious nerves.

"I can do this, I know I can."

 **...**

 **~I managed to write something today! Woo! I surprisingly had a lot of time to write today, I barely got any homework. I really appreciate all the people wishing me luck with high school, I didn't think people would've cared about that part, but I was surprised once again. Speaking of surprises, this story has over 5,600 views! What?! I never expected this much, Jesus! I still don't know why people like my crappy writing. But, nonetheless, I'm very thankful for the people who do.**

 **Also, I really liked writing that moment between Nick and Zach on the balcony. I always thought Nick had hidden feelings for a very long time, so I had him let them all out. But before I write a whole essay's worth, please leave some feedback so I know how I'm doing. Thank you for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

Zach stood in a middle of a grass infield, the rest of the applicants surrounding him. All of them were required to wear a navy blue shirt and black pants, which Zach didn't exactly understand. They all stood in a half circle, the drill sergeant eyeing all of them down. Zach felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, but he pushed the feeling back into his mind.

"Alright cadets! To become a police officer it takes strength, courage, and most of all, determination! Today, we will test your endurance in several of the different districts, such as the Rainforest District, Tundratown, and Sahara Square. If you fail." The polar bear gave a little chuckle. "You'd. Be. DEAD." She stated, the hostility was something that took Zach off guard. The group of applicants, which consisted of tigers, rhinos, bears, elephants, and even an otter. At first, Zach didn't think that the otter would be able to do it, but then again, Judy did it, Nick did it as well. Maybe he did have a chance. As they were escorted to their first exercise, Zach overheard an elephant telling a bear something.

"Hey, it's that furless thing. He's gonna get crushed out here." The elephant quietly said to the bear, hoping that the drill sergeant didn't hear.

"He wouldn't last a week here." The bear whispered back, but Zach had barely heard it. He looked behind him and glared at the bear and elephant, before shaking his head and continuing to look forward.

"You can do this, you can do this." Zach whispered to himself, his group coming up on the first exercise. All of the applicants were halted in front of a giant ice wall, freezing water located at the base of it.

"Now, cadets! You are expected to climb this ice wall without any problems. If you fail, you're DEAD!" The drill sergeant said once more, the rest of the applicants lining up to take on this massive ice monster. With a blow of the whistle, they all bounded towards the ice wall. Well, Zach hesitated to start, looking at the sheer immensity of it.

"What're you lookin' at skinsack? Move!" The drill sergeant yelled at him, snapping Zach out of his temporary daze. He started running, ignoring his fear. He ran the fastest he could, running past a few of the rhinos and bears. As he neared the wall, he took a leap over the freezing water and landed on the side of the wall, trying to get some sort of grip. He managed to get some grip with the boots he was wearing, and managed almost get to the top. When he put his hands on top to boost himself up, his footing slipped. He slid on his stomach all the way back down, plunging into the bone-chilling water. He emerged from the water, shivering and cursing under his breath.

"You're dead, furless!" The drill sergeant yelled, Zach climbing out of the Arctic-cold water. Zach sighed as he began to walk away, not before hearing a tiny splash in the water again.

"You're dead too, bite-size!" The drill sergeant's aggressive voice was heard again. Zach looked back to see the otter emerging from the water, teeth chattering and body shaking. As much as he wanted to help the poor otter, he wasn't sure the drill sergeant would appreciate that. Next, everyone was moved to their next challenge, which was supposed to simulate a sand storm. It was an absolute hell for Zach, considering that his clothes were still damp from the previous exercise. The sand stuck to his clothes like mice to a glue trap, caking him thoroughly. Sand kept blowing into Zach's eyes, causing him to shield his eyes with his hand. He continued to trek through the raging "storm", the sand seeming to burn his skin. Before he knew it, the giant fans were turned off, enabling Zach to see his surroundings. He glanced around to see that he, a rhino, a tiger, and an elephant were the only ones remaining. A second look revealed that there was a mound of sand with an otter's tail sticking out of it. A pang of sympathy was felt in his heart at the sight, the otter was clearly having trouble with the course.

"Alright, cadets! Get yourselves cleaned off, some of you might need it!" As soon as the drill sergeant said this, Zach looked down at himself and silently agreed. "But as soon as you're done, get your butts back out here, ASAP! We still have one more exercise to do! Now go!" The drill sergeant yelled, the group of applicants dispersing to the showers. Zach was about to start walking when he remembered the otter he saw in the sand. He turned to see that the otter had indeed gotten himself out, but he was completely covered with the grainy material. Zach walked up to the otter, who was looking down at his clothes, attempting to dust them off as well.

"Hey, you okay?" Zach curiously asked the otter, who continued to dust himself off.

"Yeah, I'm alright." The otter said before looking up, his brown eyes widening at the sight of Zach. "Whoa, your that furless creature everyone was talking about!" He said in an awestruck tone of voice, which caught Zach off guard.

"I mean, that's what people call me. Kinda feels weird being called a creature though." Zach said with an awkward smile. "My name's Zach, by the way."

"Eddie." The otter introduced himself, holding out his paw for a shake. Zach quickly squatted down and shook it, being mindful of his strength on his small form.

"Anyway, let's start getting to the showers. I don't want the drill sergeant to burst a blood vessel or something." Zach said, half jokingly, half serious. The otter nodded and the two of them headed towards their living quarters in the academy.

"So, I noticed you were having trouble back there." Zach told Eddie as they continued to walk, Eddie giving a nod.

"This was a lot harder than I first thought. I don't think I can do this." Eddie stated, doubt evident in his voice. Zach looked down at the otter with a look of sympathy.

"Well, everyone needs a challenge once in a while. It just proves that you're stronger than everyone else thinks." Eddie looked up at Zach. "I mean, everyone has had some sort of struggle, it's not always a walk in the park. I mean, there's a rabbit and a fox officer on the force, so it's not impossible for you." Zach finished explaining to Eddie, who looked up at him with a thankful expression.

"Y'know what? You're right. Not everything would be easy here, I just gotta keep trying." Eddie said confidently, a smile on his face.

"That's the spirit! Anyway, let's hurry up. This sand is starting to burn my eyes." Zach chuckled at the end of his sentence, earning a smile and a nod from Eddie.

 **...**

After all of the cadets washed up and ready to go, they were all gathered back up at the last exercise of the day. Zach stared at the final obstacle with fear and anxiety, his stomach doing flips inside of his body.

"Alright, cadets! This is the last obstacle of the day, the one thousand foot fall! If you didn't think you'd be dead for the others, you'll definitely be dead for this one!" The drill sergeant told the group, Zach's fear gradually rising.

'It's alright, it's just like the monkey bars at elementary school. No need to be nervous.' Zach tried to tell himself, sure that he could do this. The only thing he had to do was climb up onto the platform and cross the monkey bar-styled obstacle to the other side. No big deal, right? Before anyone could think another thought, the whistle was blown, the group of cadets sprinting towards the obstacle. Zach followed suit, running towards it as well. Getting on top of the platform wasn't the problem, the second task would be it. Zach looked above him at the monkey bars, grabbing onto them hesitantly. He started climbing towards the other end, trying to keep his eyes from averting towards the ground. Once he was about halfway, Zach accidentally looked down towards the mud pit below. His body instinctively locked up, Zach suddenly paralyzed in fear. He was left hanging there, not being able to move. His heart was beating out of his chest, his breathing quickened, fear was taking over. If you couldn't already tell by Zach's current mental breakdown, he was deathly afraid of heights. It was a good thing he was the last one to go up onto the obstacle, so he didn't have to worry about slowing people down behind him. Everyone else had seemed to pass this section of the course, even Eddie.

"C'mon Zach, you can do it!" Eddie shouted to him. Zach tried to calm himself down by shutting his eyes for a moment, taking a few deep breaths. But when that didn't help, his arms started shaking violently. His muscles started to feel tired and strained, he was starting to lose his grip. He tried to hold on to the bar as long as he could, but his muscles started burning, wanting him to stop. Finally he let go, plummeting to the mud pit below. Zach fell face first into the mud pit, temporarily blinding him. He could of sworn he heard the drill sergeant yell that he was dead, but he had an unnatural amount of mud inside his ears. Once he picked himself up from the mud pit, making sure to wipe the mud from his eyes, he trudged towards the rest of the group. Most of them seemed to be holding back laughter, all except for Eddie, who quickly scurried up to him.

"Hey, you okay man?" Eddie asked the mud-covered human. Zach just sighed and attempted to get most of the mud off his face.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Don't think I've been covered in this much mud before." Zach said, flinging the mud he wiped off his face towards the ground. Before Eddie could say anything else, the drill sergeant blew her whistle.

"Listen up, cadets! We're done for today! Some of you have some improving to do!" The drill sergeant glared at Zach for a moment, making him feel more uncomfortable than he thought possible. "For tomorrow, you need to be awake at 5:00 o'clock sharp! Don't be late! You are dismissed for now!" With those words, everyone retreated back to their living quarters for the day, Zach of course heading to the showers. He quickly took his second cleaning of the day, third if you count the plunge he took into that icy water. Once he got back to his living quarters, which he shared with two other cadets, he sat on his bed, sighing. He felt completely exhausted, his arms feeling like someone ran them over with a truck. He flopped onto his bed, his body refusing to function any longer. Just before he fell asleep, he remembered that Judy wanted him to call her when he got the chance. He sat back up slowly, mindful of his body's soreness. He reached over to his backpack and unzipped the front pocket, pulling out the rectangular object that was his phone. He quickly chose Judy's number from his contacts and pressed call, waiting for her to pick up. After the phone rang three times, the sound of someone answering the phone was heard.

"Hello?" Judy's voice was heard on the other end of the call.

"Hey Judy, it's Zach!" Zach said, trying not to sound as fatigued as he actually was.

"Zach, hi! How's the academy?" Judy asked curiously, Zach noticing the great amount of excitement in her voice.

"I mean, it's pretty tough for me, but I think I can manage." Zach smiled weakly. "How are you and Nick?"

"We're doing good, still have nothing but patrols at the station. It's really quiet over here without you." Judy explained, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Hey, is that Zach? Lemme talk to him." Zach heard Nick's voice in the background, not long after did he hear the phone being passed to him.

"Hey Jokester, what you've been up to?" Nick's voice was heard this time.

"Oh y'know, falling into ice water, getting covered with sand, face planting into mud pits...the usual stuff." Zach said sarcastically, a look of annoyance on his face. He could hear Nick trying to hold back his laughter.

"Wow, I thought you would've had that stuff down pat." Nick said, Zach could imagine the sly grin Nick had on his face.

"What do you mean? I doubt you did it on your first try!" Zach said in surprise, Nick chuckling on the other end.

"Actually I did, so..." Nick trailed off, waiting for Zach's reaction. Zach's jaw dropped in shock, not believing what the fox just told him.

"What? How d-? When di-? Could you-? Huh?" Zach stuttered, still in shock.

"Are you going to finish any of those sentences?" Nick said jokingly, causing Zach to sigh.

"Whatever. Let me talk to Judy, I feel like I'm going to go mental if I keep talking to you." Zach joked, causing an overdramatic sigh to come from Nick.

"Wow, how rude!" Nick said, faking his shock. Zach just rolled his eyes at the fox's reaction, a small grin on his face. Soon after, Judy was given the phone back.

"What were you two talking about? I heard a lot of laughing." Judy asked, Zach trying to hold back his own laughter.

"Oh nothing, just Nick being Nick I guess." Zach said, thinking for a moment. "Hey Judy? Did you have trouble when you were here?" Zach asked the bunny curiously.

"Yeah, I did. But after a lot of attempts and practicing, I finally was able to do it. Are you having trouble with it?" Judy finished speaking.

"Yeah, kinda." Zach said, slightly embarrassed.

"Don't worry, if you do it enough times you'll eventually get it. I promise." Judy told Zach, who had a small smile on his face.

"Thanks, Judy. You always know what to say, don't you?"

"Well, yeah. Someone's gotta know how to get Nick out of trouble sometimes." Judy and Zach laughed while Nick shouted a "Hey!" in the background.

"Anyway, I gotta get to sleep, I have to get up super early tomorrow." Zach said, yawning as if on cue.

"Alright, just call me or Nick whenever you can. We'll talk to you later!" Judy told Zach, who agreed.

"Okay, bye." Zach said before hanging up the phone, he carelessly tossed it to the side, flopping back down onto his bed. Without any more worries to plague his mind, he finally fell asleep.

 **...**

 **~Woo! Chapter 11! It's done! As you can tell (I hope), I spent more time than usual on this chapter, which I think made it turn out a lot better. What do you think? Besides that, I finished my first week of high school! Wooo! Nick, can I get a victory hug?**

 **Nick: Ew, no! Who are you?**

 **Okay, jeez. But other than that, this story has 7,000+ views...WHAT! This story surprised me every single day, I swear! Thank you guys so much! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please leave some feedback to let me know how I'm doing. Have a great day!**


	12. Quick Update Author's Note

Hey Guys! Sorry if this misleads you to think that there's a new chapter, but I wanted to inform you guys real quick. I know you guys are eager for another chapter, and I'm trying to work on it as much as I can, but the chapter I wrote for the past few days isn't exactly up to par. It was kinda feeling the chapter at first, but towards the end I started rushing. I'm just worried that if I don't update in like 2-3 days people are gonna start getting angry, which I'm really hoping isn't the case. I'm just trying to make the next chapter as well written as possible, so I'm hoping you guys are willing to wait until I do finish it. If you do understand, I really appreciate that. Again, sorry about the delay guys. I'll update when I can

 **~Kpex**


	13. Chapter 13

**Four Months Later...**

Zach was situated in the cafeteria of the academy, staring at the grueling food items on his tray. Usually he would at least attempt to eat the sludge they were given, but today he couldn't seem to even try. Zach's stomach felt like it was in knots, his nerves fired up all over his body, and he definitely knew the reason why.

"Hey, you alright?" Zach looked up from his food tray to see Eddie staring at him from across the table, starting to eat his meal. The otter had a worried expression on his features, and Zach tried to put a smile on his own.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Zach said, his voice quieter than he wanted it to be. Eddie gave him a look which basically said 'you're full of it'. Zach didn't feel like saying anything else, resorting to picking at the food on his tray.

"Nervous about the final test?" Eddie inquired, causing Zach to look up at him with shock and confusion. He was shocked that the otter could read him so well. Eddie was close, he was nervous about something, but the final test wasn't it.

"No, it's not the final test I'm worried about. It's...something else." Zach hesitated on the last part.

"What? We've been training with each other for the past four months, you can trust me." Eddie said assuringly, making Zach realize this as well. They had been spending a lot of their time together. Both of them were the 'outcasts' so to speak, most if not all of the cadets not acknowledging their existence. Besides training, they encouraged each other and talked together when they had free time. They had become a lot closer than when they first met, and was probably why Eddie could see that something was bothering Zach.

"I know, I do trust you." Zach gave him a nervous smile. "I'm just nervous about the public's reaction. Remember when info about me becoming a cop was leaked? The citizens didn't exactly take it lightly." Zach explained, taking a gulp of the water bottle next to his tray. Eddie remembered the things that were in the news that day. There were protests against the idea of letting a recently discovered species becoming an officer of the law, some of which turning into small scale riots. Luckily, most of them were stopped before any major damage was caused.

"But Mayor Lionheart and the Chief both approved of it, so the public's just gonna have to deal with it." Eddie stated with a shrug.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just worried if they try to attack me...or anyone I know." Zach said, not being able to imagine something happening to Judy or Nick.

"But they'd go to jail if they do, and you'd have a tranquilizer gun for a reason." Eddie told him, attempting to convince Zach that everything was fine.

"Everyone thinks I'm a dangerous freak, I don't think shooting an animal would fix my reputation." Zach said, internally conflicted. He knew he had a right to shoot an animal if they attack him, but his good nature nagged that it was wrong.

"You'd rather have someone attempt to kill you?" Eddie asked, confusion on his face.

"I don't know." Zach sighed, rubbing his temple with his fingers. "I'm so conflicted."

"Hey, it's alright. Nothing's gonna happen. You're gonna pass the test, you're gonna go to the graduation, you'll be a cop. There's no doubt about that." Eddie smiled at Zach, who returned it.

"Thanks, Eddie. I needed that." Zach thanked the otter sincerely, his mind finally at peace. Eddie gave Zach another smile before digging into his food once again. Now that his stomach has stopped doing flips, he was able to eat the contents of his tray. While he was eating, he contemplated all of the good things in his life. It sounds cliché, but he did this every once in a while to clear his mind. During his time in Zootopia, Zach was very fortunate. He'd met Nick and Judy, who took him in no matter the cost. They were the reason he was here right now, they saved him from being beaten, they were the reason he was in the academy in the first place. He couldn't be any more grateful towards the fox and bunny. Besides his own parents, he hadn't been given this vast amount of kindness from anyone before. Zach knew he had to repay them someway, and he knew what he had to do. He must pass the final test, he has to prove to Nick and Judy that their efforts weren't in vain. This was his goal, not only for him, for Nick and Judy, but everyone back home, his real home. He hadn't been more determined to do anything in his life, he was completely ready. He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts by a voice going over the intercom.

"Will all cadets in group 4B please report to the training yard at this time. All cadets to the training yard." The female voice was cut off, the rest of the mammals in the lunch room continuing their meals. Zach looked at Eddie and smiled.

"Well...this is it, huh?" Zach asked, the otter standing up on his chair.

"Yep, the moment we've been waiting for. Eddie said, jumping down from his seat. After taking a moment to throw all of their garbage out, they set off towards the training yard. The walk there was silent, the warm August air seeming to comfort the two of them. As the rest of the group came into view, Zach and Eddie picked up their pace and lightly jogged towards them. Once the two of them stood with the rest of their group, the drill sergeant began speaking.

"Well, cadets! This is it, the final test! All of you should be ready to become a Zootopia Police Officer if you complete this final course." The drill sergeant eyed her cadets, using her glare to strike fear in them for the last time. "I'll give you a quick run down of the course. First, you will go over the ice wall, followed by the raging sandstorm, and thirdly, the 1,000 foot fall. After you had completed these three obstacles, we'll take you to the athletic center, where we will do the final obstacle of the test. You will have to fight a larger animal, usually a rhino. Do you understand, cadets?!" The drill sergeant's hostility came back in a flash, all of the cadets giving a nod of understanding.

"Alright then! I will call you up one at a time. Until you're called, stay put." The drill sergeant said before looking at a clipboard. Mammals were called up in alphabetical order, which happened to make Zach go last. Zach watched as each cadet ran through the course, some of them failing. The looks of disbelief and sadness the cadets that failed had started Zach's nerves back up. Before his nerves could get the best of him, he shook his head, expelling those thoughts from his mind.

'Everything is fine. You gotta do this, for everyone.' Zach thought to himself, his confidence slowly returning. He watched as the number of cadets that stood around him got smaller and smaller. Eventually, after waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, he was the last one standing there. The drill sergeant looked at him and called his name.

"Zach Martineck?" She asked him, Zach giving her a nod. He walked up to the drill sergeant, who stood in front of the giant ice wall.

"You remember what you're doing, cadet?" The drill sergeant asked him, her hostility seeming to lower a little.

"Yes ma'am." Zach said, getting ready to take off towards the giant wall of ice. The drill sergeant started counting down, Zach focused on the large obstacle in front of him. At the blow of a whistle, Zach took off towards the ice wall. The rest of the world was completely blocked out, Zach's only focus was the giant obstacle in front of him. With a surge of adrenaline, he raced towards the wall, taking a flying leap over the icy water at the bottom. He landed on the side of the wall, gaining his footing rather quickly. Scaling the slippery obstacle, he neared the top of it faster than ever before. Instead of sliding back down like he did the first time, he managed to pull himself up onto the wall. Zach dropped down from the wall, rolling so he didn't break his ankles.

The next obstacle was the raging sandstorm, the one that could cause temporary blindness. The moment Zach approached the sand-filled rectangle, the fans started blowing the grainy material towards him. Putting his hand in front of his eyes, he proceeded to walk towards the end of the obstacle. The loud whir of the industrial-sized fans got louder and louder, signifying that Zach was getting closer and closer to the end. He felt the wind that blew around him start slowing down, the loud noise of the fans getting quieter. Zach put down his hand to see that he had reached the end of this obstacle, so he ran towards the third and final obstacle.

This, of course, was the 1,000 foot fall, which struck fear inside Zach as much as the drill sergeant did to the other cadets. Zach climbed up onto the platform, the familiar monkey bar looking obstacle standing before him. He took a deep breath, blocking the negative memories that started to plague his thoughts. He grabbed onto the first bar with a firm grip, not planning on letting go. Determined on getting to the other side, he started making his way over the mud pit below. Zach was about halfway through this obstacle when one of his hands slipped, leaving him dangling by one hand. Zach's eyes widened in fear, his free hand desperately trying to grab the bar again. After struggling for a few seconds, he managed to grab the bar again. Zach's heart started pounding quicker and quicker, his body frozen in shock and fear. He tried to calm himself down, but to no avail.

'No no! Not now! I'm almost there!' Zach screamed to himself, looking at the end of the 1,000 foot fall, his eyes fixating on the platform. Running on pure adrenaline, he forced his body out of its temporary shock. He slowly made his way to the end of the course, the end platform getting closer and closer to him. Zach, with a last burst of energy, jumped to the final platform, landing on both his feet. The sound of a whistle was heard, which let Zach to finally catch his breath. Zach put his hands on his knees, panting loudly.

'I did it, I did the course!' Zach excitedly thought in his mind, his body too tired to express his emotions at the moment. The only thing he had to do now was the boxing match with the rhino, which Zach had a plan to do it. After he gained his breath, he climbed down from the final platform. He was met by the drill sergeant, who looked surprisingly impressed by his run.

"Very nice, cadet! You were almost dead on that last one, but you proved that you could do it. Go by the others." She stated, gesturing towards the rest of group was. Zach walked over to the group of mammals, who took notice of him right away. Some of them looked completely shocked, and Zach knew exactly why.

"Didn't think I could do it, did you?" Zach asked the group of rhinos, elephants, tigers, and bears, giving all of them a cocky smile. After he said this, he saw Eddie scurry towards him.

"Hey Eddie!" Zach greeted his friend, who had the largest smile on his face.

"You did it! I knew you could." The otter told him, Zach nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, you were right. It was nothing I couldn't do."

"I'm always right." Eddie said, a joking smile on his face. Zach just rolled his eyes at the otter's comment, looking towards the athletic center.

"Now we just have to face that rhino in there now, then we're officially able to graduate!" Zach said, his excitement starting to build up. Eddie tried to smile, but it turned into a nervous one. Zach noticed the nervousness in his friend's expression and immediately became concerned.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Zach asked, his tone quieting down from before. His question earned a sigh from Eddie, who looked up at him with a defeated expression.

"I don't think I can beat the rhino." Eddie admitted, his eyes shifting towards the ground. Zach frowned slightly at the otter's statement, about to assure him when the drill sergeant started speaking once again.

"Alright, cadets! Now we will do the final part of the test, which is to see if you can take down an animal larger than you. We've picked a rhino for the smaller animals, and a giraffe for the larger ones. Now, let's go to the athletic center! Hustle!" The drill sergeant concluded, the entire group heading towards the athletic center like they were told. Zach looked down at Eddie, who looked even more nervous than before. Zach sighed.

"Hey, Eddie. I know you're nervous about this, but it's all okay. What you need is a plan." Zach said confidently, trying to lift the otter's spirits.

"A plan?" Eddie asked Zach with a confused tone, Zach nodding.

"Yeah, we've been training to fight that rhino all this time, so you have to know some of his weaknesses." Zach explained while a look of understanding appeared on Eddie features.

"I know a couple." Eddie said, some thoughts forming in his head.

"For example, we're smaller than him. That means we're quicker and more agile, especially you. We could use that to our advantage." Zach said, him and Eddie still walking with the rest of the group. "So, we could tire him out by dodging a lot, then we could go in for the final blow."

"That's actually not a bad idea, I think I could do that." Eddie realized, causing a smile to form on Zach's face.

"I know you can. You need confidence like that to succeed." Zach told him, who smiled back at him. Eddie's confidence level seemed to be a lot higher than before, which was something Zach wanted to see. The rest of the walk to the athletic center was silent for the most part, save for the occasional whispering by another cadet. Finally, they entered the building, which was mostly dark. There was a boxing ring in the middle of the room, spotlights pointing down onto it. The rhino and giraffe were already off to the side, armed with boxing gloves, mouth guards, and protective helmets. The drill sergeant walked to the front of the group, making sure that all of the cadets could see her.

"Just as before, I will call a cadet up one by one! You are to defeat the rhino or giraffe, depending on your size. If you don't, you FAIL! Do you understand?" The group of cadets, including Zach and Eddie, nodded in agreement with what the drill sergeant said. "Good." The drill sergeant muttered, looking down at her clipboard. She started calling cadets up in alphabetical order like before, which put Zach and Eddie in the last two places. The duo watched as each cadet went into the ring, some defeating their opponent, some were not so lucky. Zach looked over at Eddie, who started to look nervous again. He knew that seeing some of the cadets fail made him nervous, it made Zach nervous too. He gave the otter an assuring pat on the back, making sure not to do it too hard so he didn't hurt him. Eddie looked at him and gave him a thankful smile, seeming to appreciate Zach's attempt to comfort him. After four more cadets went up, only three of them passing, it was finally Eddie's turn to go up.

"Eddie Lutrinae!" The drill sergeant said, Eddie standing up from his seat.

"Knock em' dead, Eddie. Figuratively, not literally." Zach gave him a smile, Eddie just chuckling a little. He walked over to the drill sergeant, who gave him a mouth guard, helmet, and boxing gloves, all of which were specifically for his size. At this point, it was only Zach and Eddie left to face their opponents. The rest of the cadets who passed were on the other side of the ring, chatting amongst themselves. As Eddie entered the ring, Zach gave him a final thumbs up, which the otter returned. The rhino that Eddie was up against looked down at him, a smug smile forming on his face. Before any thoughts could be processed, a whistle was blown, the match beginning. Eddie looked up at the rhino, who started approaching him. The rhino lunged towards him, and Eddie dodged the incoming punches that went towards him. He started running behind the rhino, dodging everything he threw at him. The plan was to tire him out. But before Eddie could continue his plan, he was hit by a blind punch into his side. He was sent into the post of one of the four corners of the ring, seeming to be down for the count in one punch. Zach looked on at the sight with pure shock, Eddie lost the match.

"You're dead, small fry!" The drill sergeant yelled, Eddie sat up from the floor of the ring, holding his head with his gloved paw. Wearily, he stood up and hopped out of the ring, throwing the gloves off and taking out his mouth guard. Zach walked up to him and knelt down to his level, a look of sympathy on his face.

"You okay, Eddie?" Zach asked, worry in his voice. The hit Eddie took seemed to be a real hard one.

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little dazed, but fine." Eddie said, taking off his protective helmet.

"Sorry you didn't win, man. I was sure you had a chance against him." Zach said sympathetically, earning a small smile from the otter.

"Oh, it's alright. I'll just have to keep trying. Like you said, you need confidence to accomplish, and I think I can if I practice more." Eddie said optimistically, Zach nodding in agreement.

"And last but not least, Zach Martineck!" The drill sergeant yelled to him, earning a nod from Zach. He took a final look at Eddie, giving the otter a small hug before standing back up.

"Good luck, Eddie." Zach said, waving his farewell.

"You too, Zach!" Eddie said back, walking towards the exit of the building. With that, Zach approached the drill sergeant, who gave him the necessary equipment, such as the mouth guard, helmet, and gloves. Zach lifted the rope and climbed into the ring, eyeing the rhino thoroughly. The rhino looked at his new opponent, another cocky smile on his face. Zach just glared at him, irritation starting to rise up inside him.

'I'm not gonna be that easy to take down.' Zach thought to himself, wishing to shatter the rhino's self confidence. Zach got into a fighting stance, the rhino doing the same. Just like the cadets before him, a whistle was blown to signal the start of the match. The rhino and Zach approached each other simultaneously, meeting in the center of the ring. The rhino was the one who made the first move, throwing a punch Zach's way. Zach quickly dodged it, countering with a punch of his own. His punch was blocked by the rhino, using his other hand to throw another punch at Zach, who leapt backwards to avoid it. Zach started darting around the rhino, the rhino trying to throw punches at him. Zach continued to block and dodge his punches, taking a few blows to the abdomen in between. After a while, the rhino started slowing down, Zach knowing that this was his chance to win. Zach suddenly lunged at the rhino, punching him in the gut. The rhino doubled over, seeming to have the wind knocked out of him. The entire crowd of cadets who passed went silent, watching the match currently unfolding in front of them. Once the rhino was hunched over, Zach took his opportunity. Mustering up all of his strength, he uppercut be rhino, his glove hitting him right under his chin. The rhino fell flat onto the floor, knocked out by Zach's final blow. Zach smiled triumphantly, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"That's why you don't mess with me." Zach stated intimidatingly, the rest of the room silent with shock. After the adrenaline had started depleting from his body, he was able to think clearly. He did it, he passed. He's going to become a police officer. Zachary Dustin Martineck, an officer of the law. Zach never thought he'd be here in a million years, but here he was. In a room with a bunch of mammals, all of them in complete shock because of his accomplishment, and an unconscious rhino on the ground. He'd done something with himself, he proved everyone back home wrong. He accomplished his goal.

 **...**

 **~Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the delay of this chapter. I've been busy with school, trying to adapt to everything as best I can, and I decided to rewrite this chapter. As you can tell by the author's note before this, I didn't exactly like how I wrote it, it seemed too rushed. So, to make up for it, I wrote an extra long chapter, by my standards anyway. 3,500+ words is kinda hard for me. Anyway, I would like to address the fact that this story has 9,000+ views! I think I almost crapped myself when I saw that number. I never in a million years thought one of my stories would be this popular, but this story seems to blow my expectations out of the water. I thank you all, whether if you're reading for the first time today, or if you were here since the beginning. You guys don't know how much this means to me. I feel like I've actually accomplished something. *Cough* Alright, before I get over-emotional like I know I will, please leave some feedback to tell me how I did. Thanks!**


	14. Chapter 14

Today was the big day, the graduation! Zach was still in a state of shock from what had happened. He had called Judy and Nick two days beforehand, letting them know that the graduation was today. As soon as he said that, Judy literally started squealing like a fan girl, Nick said that he had to hold her down before she started breaking stuff in the apartment. Zach smiled at the thought, wishing that he could've seen Judy bouncing off the walls like that. Judy had immediately said that she and Nick would be there to see him graduate, leaving Zach in his current situation.

He was standing alone at the train station, awaiting Nick and Judy's arrival. They said that they were able to talk Chief Bogo into giving them the day off so they could come. Zach sighed contently, a nice gentle breeze blowing past him. He looked around station, a variety of mammals waiting there as well. Some of them gave Zach hateful glances, others just ignored him completely. Despite these signs of prejudice, Zach's great mood remained intact. Zach looked over to the right of him, where a sheep and her lamb stood. The lamb was staring at Zach, but that didn't bother him. The lamb was too young to know that staring was rude, so Zach just waved at the young lamb with a gentle smile. To Zach's surprise, the little lamb waved back, giving a toothy grin along with it. That was until his mother noticed her child waving at Zach and pulled him closer to her, glaring at Zach with a look that basically said 'stay away from my child'. Zach just awkwardly looked away, attempting to push the negative thoughts from his mind. The cool breeze was very soothing, calming down his nerves in just a few seconds. Zach began to daydream about his future, catching criminals, serving the public, maybe even cracking cases. Okay, maybe not the last one, but it's a daydream for a reason. Zach was suddenly pulled from his thoughts by the sound of a train pulling into the station. The resulting gust of wind caused some of Zach's floppy hair to blow into his face, which he pushed out of the way. Zach looked at the time on his phone, which read 2:15 pm.

'Right on time.' Zach thought to himself, a giant smile on his face. Once the train came to a complete stop, the doors opened slowly. Suddenly, a wave of mammals emerged from the train, totally engulfing the waiting platform. Zach looked around for Nick and Judy, not being able to find them at first. After about a moment of searching, Zach spotted them coming out of the train, seeming to be looking for Zach as well.

"Judy! Nick!" Zach yelled over to them, waving his arms in the air. Nick looked in Zach's general direction, waving back. He elbowed Judy, pointing over to Zach with his paw. The moment Judy saw Zach, she made a mad dash towards him, a huge smile on her face. Just as she was about to approach him, Zach knelt down and opened up his arms. Judy literally hopped into his arms, hugging him as tightly as she could.

"Zach! I missed you so much!" Judy exclaimed, making Zach chuckle at her excitement.

"I missed you too." Zach couldn't stop smiling. Judy let go of Zach and blushed slightly in embarrassment.

"Heh, sorry! Just a little excited." Judy smiled sheepishly while Zach raised an eyebrow.

"A little?" Zach joked, earning a playful glare from the rabbit.

"Okay, maybe a lot." Judy laughed. Nick slowly walked up to the two of them, not feeling like running after Judy when she took off.

"Hey there, Zachy-boy." Nick grinned at Zach, who just smirked back.

"No hug from you, huh Nick?" Zach asked, the fox having a smug expression on his face.

"Nope, I don't do that in public." Nick said, crossing his arms for more effect. Zach just got a devilish grin on his face.

"Are you sure?" Zach asked, getting closer to Nick. Nick looked up at Zach, confusion was his only feeling.

"What are you doing?" Nick asked, taking a step back. Without warning, Zach scooped up Nick into a hug, causing the fox to let out a surprised yelp.

"Too late, it's happening!" Zach yelled, smiling. Nick too was smiling, but looked slightly annoyed and embarrassed as well.

"Alright! Alright! Get your dirty paws off of me!" Nick said, obviously joking around. But, the crowd of mammals around the trio didn't take it that way. Many of the mammals stopped and stared with shock, some looking at Zach with an angry expression. Zach immediately took notice of their oncoming stares, putting Nick down and looking around at the mammals with a nervous smile.

"He was just kidding! Haha..." Zach said, an awkward laugh escaping his mouth "Nick, say you were joking!" He loudly whispered to the fox. Nick looked at the crowd, his usually calm and collected demeanor now being used.

"I was joking around folks, nothing to see here!" Nick said calmly to the crowd of onlookers. The mammals gave a cautious glare towards Zach before continuing what they were doing beforehand. This let Zach release a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"That...could've been a lot worse." Zach said nervously, his eyes shifting around to see if anyone was still looking.

"Maybe if Nick didn't start yelling, this-" Judy started to say.

"Judy, it's not his fault, I probably shouldn't of done that." Zach interjected, looking guilty. "I'm just so happy to see you guys."

"We're happy too see you too, right Nick?" Judy asked the fox, glaring at him. Nick just smirked at Judy and ruffled the fur between her ears.

"Of course I'm happy! I'm not some cold hearted jerk, now am I?" Nick stated, giving Zach a smile. Judy just groaned and fixed the fur that Nick put out of place.

"Anyway, Zach. How you feeling? Nervous? Anxious?" Judy asked him with a small smile.

"I'm a little nervous, I guess. I still can't believe this is happening. It's like this is an amazing dream and I don't ever want to wake up." Zach smiled at the fox and rabbit.

"I can imagine. It is pretty insane that this is happening." Nick said, agreeing with Zach.

"I'm so happy for you Zach!" Judy said, giving his leg a side hug. Nick nodded and smiled in agreement to what Judy said.

"Thanks guys. As soon as I possibly can, I'll make it up to you guys, for everything you've done for me. I promise." Zach said, determined on his newfound goal in his mind.

"Zach, I told you. You don't have to make it up to me and Carrots, I've said that a billion times." Nick said, seeming to be serious this time.

"Again, you think I'll listen? I know you guys don't want me to, but I'm going to. No matter what, alright?" Zach said seriously as well, causing a sigh of defeat to escape from Nick.

"Fine, you win." Nick rolled his eyes and his usual smirk was back on his face in an instant. Zach smiled triumphantly, knowing that he had won this time.

"So, what are we doing?" Judy asked curiously, causing Zach to remember the plan he made up in his hand.

"Yeah, telling you guys the plan would help, wouldn't it." Zach chuckled. "So, the ceremony isn't until four o'clock, and it's 2:20 right now. So, I figured we could get something to eat before then." Zach explained to the two of them.

"That sounds good. Did you have a place in mind?" Judy asked, feeling her stomach growl, seeming to agree with the plan as well.

"There was a diner across the street from the academy, how about that place?" Zach suggested, and Nick and Judy both seemed to agree with that. The trio walked a block and a half away from the train station, the academy and the diner Zach mentioned now in view. When they walked up to the diner, it seemed to be designed like one from the 1950s, and Zach recognized this style perfectly well. There were many of these 50s diners all over his settlement, considering that they were one of the first architectural advances humans made. The trio went inside the establishment, sitting in a booth next to the windows. A wolf waitress came up to their table, handing them menus. When the waitress took notice of Zach, she looked at him with a concerned glare before pulling out a notepad.

"What can I do for you guys?" The wolf asked, Zach, Nick, and Judy looking at the menus simultaneously. Zach scanned the sandwiches section, feeling specifically hungry for a sandwich right about now. As he was searching for something to meet his cravings, a certain item stopped him.

'Veggie Burger.' Zach thought coldly, painful memories starting to appear in the back of his mind. Zach immediately stopped his mind from continuing these thoughts, expelling them from his head. 'Get it together, Zach. He died almost a year ago, you can move on!' He nagged himself internally.

"Zach, what do you want?" Judy asked him, bringing him back to reality.

"Oh! Uh..." Zach briefly looked down at the menu, eyeing the two words he had been thinking about. "...I'll have the veggie burger." Zach said, putting his menu flat on the table. The waitress looked down and wrote it down on her note pad.

"Alright, so one veggie burger, one small salad, and one fried cricket meal?" The waitress asked, still staring at Zach with a cautious glare. The three of them nodded and the waitress put her notepad away. "Coming right up." The wolf said before walking to tend to another customer. Zach started pondering the face the waitress kept giving him. Her expression was similar to everyone else's, one of caution and fear. How was he going to be a police officer if the only thing he did was strike fear into everyone. He'd actually noticed a pattern during his time in Zootopia, and that was prey were the ones that feared him, while predators resorted to more violence. He couldn't possibly do a good job knowing that animals would fear him like that.

"Zach? Zach? Are you okay?" Nick asked the human, which broke Zach's train of thought.

"Huh, what's up?" Zach asked, trying to focus on what Nick wanted to say.

"You okay? You looked like you were thinking pretty hard." Nick said, a concerned expression on his face.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I was..." Zach trailed off, looking down at the menu that lay in front of him. There was a brief silence among the three of them, the only sound being the chatter of other customers in the diner. The silence only lasted a few seconds before Judy decided to speak up.

"Zach, if there's something you want to talk about, you can always talk to us." She said, giving Zach an assuring smile.

"Yeah, remember what we said?" Nick asked, the moment of him and Zach on the balcony replaying in Nick's mind. Zach nodded and took a quick glance outside, watching mammals walking down the street. Zach sighed and turned back to look Nick and Judy.

"I don't know if I'd do a good job being a cop." Zach finally admitted out loud, earning a shocked gasp from both Judy and Nick.

"What makes you think that?" Nick asked, eyes wide.

"Everyone's either scared of me or wants to hurt me. A cop is supposed to make the public feel safe and secure, not scare them half to death or make them feel threatened." Zach looked down at his lap, a mix of emotions swirling around within him. Sadness, worry, hesitation, just to name a few. Nick looked at Judy with a saddened expression, both his and her ears flattened against their heads. Judy took hold of Zach's hand with both of her paws, causing Zach to look up at the grey bunny.

"Zach, look. Once you put on that uniform, and start helping the citizens, they might have a change of heart." Judy started, Zach looking her in the eyes. "When Nick started on the force, a lot of citizens didn't trust him at first. Why? Because he was a fox." Judy looked over at Nick, who nodded.

"When me and Judy got a case when I first started, the victim didn't want me to help her and demanded to have another officer." Nick said, a mildly pained expression on his face.

"But now animals all over Zootopia know Nick and I and we're considered the best officers on the force." Judy gave Zach a smile. "So people might not trust you at first, but give it some time. People will see you as the great guy we know you are." Zach gave Judy and Nick a grateful smile.

"I guess you do have a point there." Zach stated. "You guys are the best, you know that?"

"Of course I'm the best." Nick said with a smirk, causing Zach to roll his eyes at the fox. The three of them talked for awhile before their food arrived. The food at the diner wasn't the best thing Zach ever tasted, but it was still good. The time was 3:15, so Zach had to head back to the academy to get ready for the ceremony. Zach said his farewells to Nick and Judy before going back to his temporary living quarters in the academy.

 **...**

Zach stood in front of a full body mirror, wearing his newly acquired police uniform. Zach examined his body, still not being able to believe that he was staring at himself. The police uniform he wore felt so foreign to him. He never would've thought in a million years he would be here, about to become a police officer in the place his entire species feared. If someone had told him a year ago that he'd be a police officer in Zootopia, he would've laughed at them and told them they were high. Zach chuckled at the thought and straightened his black tie, wanting to look his best for the ceremony.

'Plans can definitely change, that's for sure.' Zach thought to himself, reminding himself of his original plan. He came to Zootopia thinking he could get a job involving designing, sketching, or any other art-related ones. But instead, he's a cop. Thinking about it now, both of them sounded far fetched, but he still accomplished one of them. It may not be the one he was expecting, but what are you gonna do? Life's full of surprises. Zach looked over his appearance one final time, his floppy blonde hair was nice and combed, he shaved the little stubble he managed to grow at the academy clean off, and his uniform was nice and clean. Content with his physical appearance, he walked away from the mirror, proceeding to walk out of his living quarters for the last time.

By the time Zach made it to the ceremony, there were a bunch of people already sitting in the many chairs spread across the grass. All of the families of the cadets were there to see them graduate, some of them crying tears of joy at the sight, others having a permanent smile on their face. Zach noticed Nick and Judy sitting in the front row of seats and waved to them, both of them waving back with a smile on their faces as well. Zach went to go stand where the other soon-to-be officers were standing, squeezing himself into the front row of the formation they made. There was a gentle breeze blowing past all of them, which calmed Zach's excitement a bit. He didn't feel nervous, or scared, but happy. He'd accomplished something so big at such a young age. Most 18 year olds would be barely holding on to a job at a fast food chain, but Zach was going to be a police officer. All of this was barely comprehensible for the human. Zach just took a deep breath and tried to put his excitement on the down low, the mayor and assistant mayor of Zootopia walking up to the podium onstage. From what Zach had heard, their names were Mayor Lionheart and Assistant Mayor McCanid, who were a lion and a wolf respectively. Zach brought all of his attention to the mayor, who was about to speak at the podium.

"Welcome all to the graduation ceremony of the ZPD's Class of 2016. Will everyone please take your seats and then we will start." Lionheart said over the microphone, causing people who were standing to claim their seats. Once everyone was seated and the talking died down, Lionheart cleared his throat and began talking.

"As mayor of Zootopia, I would like to congratulate all of the new recruits that stand before us today." Mayor Lionheart stated, which caused a smile to form on Zach's lips. Lionheart started calling up the recruits one by one, flashbacks to the testing day replaying in Zach's mind. Just like that day, Zach watched as every other recruit's name was called, each going up and receiving their badge from Assistant Mayor McCanid. Finally, after a total of 17 other newly-proclaimed officers before him, he was called up.

"And last, but certainly not least, our first human officer, Zachary Martineck!" Mayor Lionheart said, a smile on his face. Zach noticed that not many people clapped for him besides Nick and Judy, but he didn't care. Holding his hat with his right hand, he proudly walked up to the stage. Once on top, he approached the assistant mayor, who had what Zach presumed to be his badge in his hand. As soon as Zach saw that badge, his emotions were getting more and more prominent.

'Don't cry don't cry don't cry!' Zach screamed at himself on the inside, trying to control his emotions the best he could. Mayor McCanid approached Zach with a smile on his face, placing the badge in the one vacant place on his uniform. Once the badge was in place, Mayor Lionheart started speaking once more.

"Officer Martineck, I hereby assign you to Precinct 1, the very center of Zootopia. Congratulations." He said, Zach's blue eyes widening in excitement. Mayor Lionheart and McCanid both clapped for him, causing the rest of the crowd to start clapping along as well. Zach looked over to where Nick and Judy were seated to notice that Judy was tearing up, a smile on her face. Nick too seemed to be tearing up, but he was being more secretive about it. The sight of both of them caused a single tear to roll down Zach's cheek, a huge, toothy grin on his face. Mayor Lionheart approached him and Assistant Mayor McCanid, putting his massive paw on Zach's shoulder.

"Alright, smile for the cameras!" Mayor Lionheart said, looking towards the group of paparazzi. Zach smiled and looked at the all the cameras, a barrage of flashes going off at once. The rest of the ceremony went by in an instant, because before Zach knew it, Mayor Lionheart was saying his final words.

"It's with great privilege that I present to you the ZPD Academy Class of 2016." He said, the crowd roaring with claps and whistles. As soon as the clapping died down, all of the recruits returned to their families. Zach walked over to Nick and Judy, the latter running up to him and hugging his legs.

"Zach! I'm so proud of you!" Judy said ecstatically, looking up at Zach with the largest smile ever.

"Thanks, you guys. I couldn't have done it with out you." Zach said happily, Judy letting go of his legs.

"Still no hug from you, Nick? I'm gonna start taking it as an insult." Zach knelt down, opened his arms, and smirked. "You know you wanna." Nick just rolled his eyes and smirked, finally accepting the hug. When Nick wrapped his arms around Zach, a zapping sound was heard. Zach yelped and fell backwards, landing flat on his back. Nick stood over Zach with a smug smile, while Judy came over to see if Zach was alright. Nick revealed in his hand a joy buzzer, and he pressed it against Zach's neck when he hugged him.

"Nick." Zach said, not sounding amused.

"Yeah?"

"I hate you."

"You know you love me." Nick said, earning a smile from Judy, who playfully punched him in the arm.

"Whatever, Nick." Zach said, trying not to crack a smile. He ultimately failed, causing Nick's smug smile to get bigger.

"You're smiling." Nick said in a teasing way.

"I know." Zach groaned, sitting up from his prone position. "That kinda hurt though." He put his hand on his neck, where Nick had put the joy buzzer.

"Oh c'mon, don't be a wuss. It wasn't that bad." Nick teased Zach once more. What Nick didn't expect was Zach to swiftly snatch the joy buzzer out of his hand. Before he could comprehend what just happened, he felt something get pushed against his neck. An small electric shock coursed through him, causing him to yelp and jump backwards. Nick looked at Zach, who had the largest grin ever imaginable. Zach held up the joy buzzer and shook it in his hand.

"Don't mess with me, Nicky." Zach smirked at the fox, Judy giving him a high five. Nick gave the two of them a playful glare and rolled his eyes.

"You guys are the worst." Nick said, holding the spot where the joy buzzer had touched him.

"You know you love us." Judy smirked at the fox, imitating what he said to Zach just a moment ago. Nick just smiled at the two of them.

"Do I know that? Yes, yes I do."

 **...**

 **~Holy crap, I just realized how much I wrote! I had all day today to write this, so it's all I did and I wrote over 3,000 words. Jeez, I CAN write a lot if I wanted to. Anyway, I know in the past I had some people say that my writing's pretty good (despite my thoughts), but is it 10,000+ views good?! Like damn, why do people like this so much?! I'm sitting here thirteen chapters later and I still don't know... I mean, I'm still grateful, don't get me wrong. I'm just really surprised by the amount of people who read this story. I expected maybe 1,000, 2,000 if I'm lucky. But then I see 10,000 and nearly start convulsing on the floor. It's a good convulsing though. Anyway, before I bore you guys with this, leave me some feedback so I know how I did. Thanks!**


	15. Chapter 15

Zach sat in his seat on the train, Nick and Judy sitting by his side. Zach wanted the window seat on the train, since he always liked looking at the environment whiz by him. He either drew his surroundings, as we've seen him do before, or he'd just lose himself in his thoughts for the remainder of the trip. Since he didn't really feel like sketching anything at the moment, he resorted to staring out the window. Zach noted the buildings of various sizes flying past, the city center off in the distance. Zach smiled, knowing that he would soon be patrolling the streets of this city. Zach continued to look out the window, until some of the things he saw started to look familar. The train was now curving around the outskirts of the city, buildings on one side and forests on the other. Zach's eyes shifted to the window on the other side of the train, seeing the vast mountains that stood behind the forests. Zach finally realized why he recognized this place so well.

"My settlement's close by..." Zach mumbled.

"Huh? Did you say something Zach?" Nick looked over to the human, who was staring out the opposing window.

"My settlement. It's...in the middle of all those mountains over there..." Zach trailed off, a million thoughts running through his head. He couldn't even imagine what he put his mother through at this point. She hadn't seen him in four months, four long months. Zach couldn't even imagine the pain she must be going through, all alone in their home.

"Zach? Are you okay?" Judy asked Zach gently, knowing that Zach was thinking about his home. Nick was staring at the same mountains Zach was staring at, surprised by the proximity to the city his settlement was. Zach just continued to stare at the mountain range, his face completely void of any emotion. On the inside, Zach was the complete opposite. He was having a mental breakdown on the inside, but his body refused to let any of it show. He left his mother, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, all behind to come here, and he'd probably caused them so much pain. His mother was just getting over his father's death, and Zach straight up left in the middle of the night, leaving her alone. Zach was so caught up in his own plans and goals that he didn't realize what he had caused his family and friends to go through. Zach felt like the absolute worst person on the planet, causing unimaginable suffering that didn't even need to happen. Zach finally broke his stare from the mountains, which began to move away from them as the train started following the track to the city center. Zach still had a blank expression, but he started staring at his lap idly. Nick and Judy looked at each other, a genuine look of fear and confusion on each of their faces.

"What's wrong with him?" Nick asked his rabbit partner, who shrugged and frowned.

"I don't know, I've never seen him like this. It's like he just...broke." Judy stated, looking at Zach, who just kept staring at his lap. Zach didn't hear what they were saying, he was too busy listening to what his thoughts were telling him.

'You're the worst person alive, you know that? You caused so many people pain for what, your own selfish desires? You selfish piece of garbage.' Zach repeatedly said to himself in his mind, getting more and more depressed by the moment. Despite the current mental strain he was putting on himself, his body still showed no signs of any emotions. He just continued to stare at his lap in complete silence for the rest of the train ride. When the three of them had reached their stop, Nick had to repeatedly elbow Zach to get him to get up.

"Zach! C'mon buddy, we gotta get off." Nick said, finally getting through to Zach. Zach shook his head and looked around him, noticing other mammals standing up to get off the train as well.

"Oh..." Was the only thing Zach managed to say before standing up. He grabbed his backpack, which was situated at his feet, before following Nick and Judy to the aisle between the rows of seats. The trio walked out of the train and onto the waiting platform, which was crowded with other mammals as well. Zach remained quiet, which was something that worried Nick and Judy deeply. Usually, Zach was the one that started the conversations they had together, but Zach was completely silent. Judy looked up at Zach, who's eyes were fixated forward. They looked completely dull and lifeless, their usual bright blue color now very pale. The rest of the walk to their apartment was silent, despite Nick trying to start up a conversation multiple times. Once the trio had made it back to the apartment, Judy and Nick went to the kitchen to grab some water from the fridge, while Zach just sat on the couch. When Judy and Nick looked back at Zach, they hoped to find some emotion on his features. But they were out of luck, since Zach's face was as blank as ever. Judy looked at Nick with a terrified expression, her ears flattened against her head.

"Nick, we have to do something. Zach's never been like this, it's starting to scare me." Judy said worriedly, Nick looking at her with a worried expression as well.

"Usually he does talk about what's on his mind, but something changed. Should we talk to him?" Nick curiously asked, Judy nodding in agreement. The two of them slowly walked up to the silent human, who was staring blankly at the wall. Judy looked at Nick, who gave an assuring nod.

"Zach, are you alright?" Judy asked, earning nothing but silence from Zach. Zach just continued to stare at the wall, void of any emotion whatsoever.

"Zach, talk to us buddy." Nick said, only receiving silence like before.

"Zach, please." Judy pleaded, starting to get upset. Nick put his paws on Zach's cheeks and forced him to look into his eyes.

"Listen, Zach. Remember what we said on the balcony before you left for the academy? We said if one of us had a problem, we'd go to the other. I'm asking you to do that now, I know something's bothering you." Nick said, his green eyes staring into Zach's blue ones. Zach's emotions were starting to peek through, Zach suddenly being able to talk.

"I...hurt so many people..." Zach said, his voice low and monotone just as before.

"What do you mean?" Judy asked, fearing that Zach had done something horrible.

"I left my family...my friends...everyone behind. For what? To try and make my own dreams come true?" Zach's voice was starting to get full of emotion. "I caused everyone pain for my own selfish needs! I left in the middle of the night thinking I was doing the right thing, but...I...I..." Zach couldn't hold his emotions in anymore, tears cascading down his cheeks. All of the pain, sadness, regret, were being released at once. Zach didn't even bother wiping the tears away, he didn't care anymore. "I'm just a selfish jerk. It took me four goddamn months just to figure that out, four long painful months that I made my entire family endure. I'm the worst person ever...I don't deserve any of this..." Zach continued to let the tears fall, his entire world crumbling around him. Nick and Judy were in a state of shock, they had never seen Zach have a mental breakdown like this. Nick and Judy both did the only thing they could, and that was wrap Zach up in a warm hug.

"Zach, don't say that about yourself! You're not the worst person ever, you're far from it!" Nick said to Zach, who began to tremble in his and Judy's arms.

"If I wasn't so stupid, everything would be fine!" Zach continued to let the tears fall, his mind constantly shouting insults at him.

"Look, you said that your settlement had Zootopia's tv stations, right? Your family must know about you then! They've seen the news stories, videos people captured, pictures, everything! They know that you're safe." Judy explained, causing Zach to cease his crying for a moment.

"Y-yeah, I guess they did." Zach gave a half-hearted chuckle, only to find himself in a depressed state shortly after. "But I left my mom alone in the middle of the night, she didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to me. First my dad left her...and then I went and did the same. I can't imagine what that must've done to her." Zach looked at the fox and rabbit, a guilty expression on his face. Judy started thinking for a moment, her face showing that she was deep into her thoughts too.

"Uh oh, she's thinking. Lay it on us, Carrots." Nick said, trying to brighten up the mood with his 'charming' personality. Zach just stared at Judy hopefully, not even noticing Nick trying to bring up the mood. Suddenly, Judy had a face of realization, meaning she had thought of something.

"Zach, you remember where your settlement is?" Judy asked, her ears perking up.

"Yeah?" Zach sniffled, wiping his damp eyes with his hands.

"Why don't we take you back so you can see your mother again. You two can catch up on everything you've missed, you can tell her about what happened when you were here, it'll be great. How does that sound?" Judy explained, a look of shock on Zach's face.

"You'd actually do that? For me?" Zach smiled genuinely for the first time since the train ride.

"Of course. If that's what it takes to see you happy again, we'll do it. Right Nick?" Judy looked at Nick with a hopeful expression, who just nodded in agreement with the plan.

"Yep, whatever makes you happy, bud. I'll help, one hundred percent." Nick smiled, causing Zach to smile in return.

"Thank you guys, so much. You don't know how much that would mean to me." Zach couldn't even contain his happiness, wrapping his arms around the two mammals once more. Nick and Judy both returned his hug, happy to see Zach being his usual, glad self. When they broke the embrace, Nick looked to Judy.

"Alright, Carrots. It's your plan, when do you suggest we carry it out?" Nick asked her, Zach wanting to know the same thing as well. Judy glanced at a clock that hung above the couch, which said it was 6:34.

"It depends. How long to it take you to get to the city, Zach?" Judy asked Zach, which caused him to remember the grueling journey that he had to take.

"Well, I started at about 11:30 at night, and I got to the city limits at about 7:45 in the morning, so about 8 hours. Then again, I was walking and taking breaks from time to time, so it shouldn't be that long of a trip." Zach explained to her, and Judy started tapping her foot in thought.

"We could go now, it shouldn't be that long of a drive there. Besides, we all have to be at the station tomorrow, so we can't go too late or we wouldn't be able to get up early enough." Judy said, excitement pumping through her veins.

"One of you guys have a car?" Zach asked them curiously, not recalling either of them owning one.

"I do." Nick said, Zach looking at him with disbelief.

"Do you drive it often? I've never seen you drive it before." Zach questioned the fox, who just shrugged.

"He uses it to try to get girls." Judy said teasingly, giving Nick a smirk. Nick shot an annoying glare towards the rabbit, Zach started bursting out laughing. Nick just let out an annoyed sigh, rolling his eyes at Zach, who was almost to the point of falling on the floor with laughter.

"Oh ha ha, mess with the fox. Do you want to use the car or not?" Nick crossed his arms, getting more and more irritated by the moment.

"Oh come on Nick, have a sense of humor. Besides, I haven't seen Zach laugh that hard before." Judy gestured towards the 18 year old, who was on the floor at this point, laughing to his heart's content like he was a little kid. Nick's expression softened at the sight, a small smile forming on his muzzle. Nick wouldn't admit this out loud, mostly because he wouldn't hear the end of it from Judy, but he really grew fond of Zach. He was a really well-rounded kid, he was funny, he could be serious when he needs to, he's kind, and Nick could appreciate that about him. Nick felt like he could relate to him, more or less because they both had lost their fathers. But Nick had decided something after the first few days Zach was with them, something that he'd never see himself wanting to do. He wanted to give Zach something he himself didn't have for a long time, a father figure. Zach was an adult already, considering that he was 18, but Nick believed that Zach needed one now more than ever. Zach was out in the real world now, in an entire new place as well, and Nick knew that he wanted the best for him since the day he and Zach had the talk on the balcony. Zach was the son Nick never knew he wanted, but now he did know, and he was damn grateful for it. Nick just smiled widely at Zach, who had since stopped laughing like a hyena.

"Alright, alright. Sorry, I'll stop now." Zach said, out of breath from the laughing fit he had currently had. Nick just smirked and patted Zach on the back.

"Alright, let's get going before another laugh attack sets in." Nick stated, chuckling a little. Zach and Judy both nodded and followed the fox out of the apartment and down the stairs like they had done about 30 minutes ago. Instead of going through the front entrance like they usually did, Nick lead them through a door at the rear of the building. Once outside, they were met by a medium sized parking lot that was for the most part vacant. There were a few cars scattered across the concrete lot, but Nick walked over to one in particular. Zach's jaw dropped in shock as Nick approached a bright orange convertible, unlocking its door with the key. Nick turned back around to see Zach's shocked expression, only to give him a smug smile in return.

"Like what you see?" Nick said smugly.

"Okay, I expected you to have a crappy little hatchback or something, not this! This is awesome!" Zach was suddenly ecstatic, completely in awe with the vehicle in front of him.

"And he never got a single girl with that car." Judy added, causing Zach to look at her with shock.

"You're joking." Zach stated, Judy giving him a shake of her head. Zach just looked at Nick, who was glaring daggers at Judy.

"Nick, what're you doing wrong?!" Zach smirked at the fox, who just rolled his eyes.

"Just get in, we don't want to waste any more time here." Nick said, starting to get a bit annoyed at this point.

"Shotgun!" Judy yelled, running towards the car and leaping over the door and into the passenger seat.

"Aw, I wanted shotgun..." Zach sluggishly went to the back seat, Judy immaturely sticking her tongue out at him. With that, Nick pulled out of the parking lot and the three of them were on their way.

 **...**

The three of them were driving down a dirt road, dense trees lining each side of the road. To the left, they could see the tall buildings of sprawling metropolis that was Zootopia in the distance, and to their right, tall snow-capped mountains stood tall, towering over everything remotely close to it. Zach sat in the back seat of Nick's convertible, observing his surroundings very carefully. He was looking for the small opening in the mountain from which he emerged from a little over four months ago. Zach was getting more and more anxious the closer they got to his settlement, he didn't know what his mother's reaction would be. Although Nick and Judy told him that his mother would be ecstatic, he couldn't help but expect the worst. Zach's nerves started firing up, the cool evening air not even able to soothe him. Despite all the thoughts and feelings that plagued him, he continued to look for the opening in between the two mountains.

"You see it yet, Zach?" Judy asked him while he continued to scan the mountainsides.

"Not yet." Zach replied simply, keeping his main focus on the mountains to the right of him. Zach followed the base of the mountain until it abruptly stopped, another mountain starting soon after it, which formed a small gap between them. Zach's eyes widened in both shock and excitement, realizing that was where the entrance to the settlement was.

"Wait! I see it! Slow down!" Zach exclaimed, Nick complying to his request.

"Where?" Nick asked curiously, looking around for what Zach was seeing.

"Just pull up here." Zach stated, gesturing to a spot on the side of the road. Nick did what he was told, making the car come to a complete stop. Zach was the first to get out of the car, vaulting over the side of it and landing on the grass with a quiet thud. Nick and Judy followed suit, staring at the very dense forest in front of them.

"Your settlement's behind this?" Judy asked in surprise, both her and Nick staring at the plethora of trees that stood before them.

"Yep, we've been behind these the entire time. It's really shocking, isn't it?" Zach looked at the forest, remembering his first thoughts when he emerged from it.

"Yeah, it's kinda weird, not knowing there's an entire species right under our noses." Nick said, anticipating what to find in Zach's settlement. Nick and Judy were about to start going into the dense forest when Zach stopped them.

"Hey, before we get in there. Let me tell you something. People might run when they see you, my kind are extremely afraid of all other animals." Zach explained, Nick and Judy looking at him with understanding.

"But why aren't you afraid?" Judy asked him, Zach shrugging in response.

"I don't know, actually. Ever since my dad showed me some of Zootopia's tv stations I've just been fascinated with it." Zach just smiled fondly at the memory of his dad first showing him a Zootopian tv station. It was showing the news, and the news anchor was a lion at the time. He could remember himself becoming mesmerized by this new creature before him, probably because he was four and everything fascinated him anyway. He didn't even pay attention to the news story, he was just focusing on the bipedal animals that were on the tv. Zach broke himself from his thoughts and came back to reality.

"Anyway, let's get going. It's gonna get dark soon." Zach stated, starting the small trek into the wooded area. Nick and Judy followed suit, weaving in and out of the trees easily. Zach, however, had a more difficult time weaving through them, considering his size compared to the rabbit and fox.

"Zach! What're you doing? Come on, you slowpoke!" Nick teased, turning around to smirk at Zach.

"You're a tiny fox that's four feet tall, I'm an average sized human that's 5"6. There's a pretty big difference there, man." Zach rolled his eyes, attempting to catch up Nick and Judy.

"Hey! I'm 4"1! Get it right!" Nick said, causing Zach and Judy to let out an annoyed sigh. The trio continued to squeeze between the thick trunks of the trees, Zach going fast enough to keep up with Nick and Judy. After about 15 minutes of squeezing through almost impossible spaces, some of which had trapped Zach temporarily, Judy had spotted some light up ahead.

"Guys! Look, there's light up ahead!" Judy said excitedly, her purple irises lighting up. She quickly started running through the few trees that were left, leaving Zach and Nick in the dust.

"Carrots, wait up!" Nick hurried up to catch up to the bunny, leaving Zach to be the straggler of the group.

"Wow, let the guy who knows the place go last!" Zach yelled after them, trying to go faster between the trees. Zach managed to get a couple of scratches from the tree bark, but they weren't major. Zach followed the sound of Nick and Judy's quiet footsteps until they abruptly stopped. Zach continued to go forward, suddenly meeting the edge of the forest. What he saw when he emerged was Nick and Judy just standing there, both of them staring with wide eyes, mouths agape. They looked exactly how he did when he first saw the high rise buildings of Zootopia in the distance, which was way more interesting than this small settlement. Nick and Judy just continued to look at the sight in front of them, noting many of the details. There were row houses lining one side of the block, all of them identical save for the color. On the other block it looked like it was the downtown area, small shops and restaurants lining the street there. The area was considerably darker than where they had parked the car, the tall trees making a canopy that blocked out most of the orange sunlight from shining through.

"Woah..." Nick was the first to speak up, looking over to Zach. "This is amazing! This is where you've been living?"

"Yep. All 18 years of my life were spent here." Zach looked around, nostalgia the only feeling he had.

"I never knew that a devoloped society like this could be hidden this well." Judy said in awe, drinking in all of the sights before her very eyes.

"It's really cool, isn't it?" Zach asked the two of them, who just nodded slowly in agreement, still mesmerized by the new sight before them. "Anyway, let's get moving." Zach said, snapping the other two out of their temporary daze. They started walking down the street, Zach leading the group towards his house. There weren't a lot of people outside, considering it was almost 8:00 pm and people were usually relaxing inside. There was one man who was walking down the sidewalk on the opposing side, who took off running as soon as he took notice of the fox and bunny next behind Zach. Nick and Judy looked at Zach with a worried expression, but Zach just told them that everything was fine.

"Usually if someone even says Zootopia people usually flip out. So, take that guy's lack of a reaction as a compliment." Zach smirked at the two of them, Nick and Judy just smiling nervously back. The rest of the walk had a couple more humans running and hiding from the three of them, which worried Nick and Judy even more. When Zach approached his old house, he saw that it looked absolutely terrible. The grass was tall and unkept, bushes were growing out of control, weeds dotted the entire front yard, it was almost like his house had been abandoned. Zach was worried at this point, seeing his home in such a state. Judy noticed his worried expression right away.

"Zach? What's wrong?" Judy immediately asked in concern, causing Nick to look at Zach as well.

"I...never saw my house like this before..." Zach said, completely shocked. Zach slowly creeped up to his front door, knocking on it twice. He waited about 10 seconds to see if there was an answer.

He knocked again...

Waited another 10 seconds...

No answer.

Zach was starting to get nervous. His mother should be home, she didn't have a job and if she did, she would be home by now. Zach tried turning the doorknob as a last resort, surprised to find it unlocked. Zach pushed open the door, and what he saw shook him down to the core. Zach was met with his home a complete wreck, garbage was spread across the whole living room, the kitchen filled up to the brim with dirty dishes and old food, the tv turned on with no one watching it. Zach dreaded this exact moment, figuring out that his mother was living like this. Nick and Judy came up beside Zach, an equally shocked look on their features as well.

"What happened here?" Judy asked Zach, looking up at him. Zach just entered the house silently, approaching the tv that was left on.

"I-I know what happened. She broke again, like when my father passed." Zach looked at what station the tv was on, and found it to be the ZNN. "She didn't do anything for a whole two weeks, too depressed to even come out of her room. I was the one that helped her get out of it..." Zach picked up the remote and shut off the tv with a press of a button. "...but I wasn't here this time." Zach tried not to let the emotions take over as he walked to the hallway where the bedrooms were. Nick and Judy followed close behind, too nervous to even say a word. The first room on the left was Zach's old room, which he hadn't seen or been in since he left. Zach opened the door to find that his room was completely intact, everything just as he left it. His bed was made, his clothes were neatly hung in his closet, everything was perfect. Zach just looked around his old room, more and more sorrow and regret building up inside him. Zach had noticed the note he wrote to his mother was still on his bed. Zach tried desperately at this point to hold back his tears, slowly picking up the note. The writing on the front of the page confirmed that it was indeed his note, but something was different. He flipped the page over and saw three words that made him freeze.

Please come back.

Zach couldn't take it anymore, letting the tears roll down his cheeks like waterfalls.

"Oh my god..." Zach mumbled, quiet sobs escaping him.

"Zach? What is that?" Nick asked, looking at the worn piece of paper in Zach's hands. Zach just dropped it, the paper floating to the carpeted floor. Nick picked up the note and saw those three words on the back of it, written in red marker. Nick's eyes widened as he showed it to Judy, who looked at Zach with a sympathetic look.

"Zach?" Judy asked cautiously, slowly approaching the human.

"What...have I done?" Zach said, his voice cracking. Nick tried to put a reassuring paw on Zach's shoulder, but Zach took off towards the door, going full speed.

"MOM?" Zach was heard from the hallway, causing the rabbit and fox to chase after him.

"Zach!" Nick said after him, only to find him in front of his mother's bedroom door. Zach wrapped his hand around the cold metal knob, twisting it before opening the door. His mother's room was usually nice and tidy, but now, it was far from that state. There were clothes thrown haphazardly across the floor, empty bowls and ice cream cartons were on her night stand and dresser, and his mother was sleeping on her messy bed. Zach's heart completely shattered to pieces seeing his mother in this state. He thought the last time would be the only time he'd see her like this, but here he was, the cause of it this time. Zach walked slowly up to his mother, who was wearing light blue pajama bottoms and a matching shirt, her messy, shoulder-length blonde hair covering her face. Zach couldn't help but smile slightly at her sleeping form, she looked so peaceful, despite what her surroundings looked like. Zach reached out his hand and gently shook his mom's shoulder, causing her to let out a groan.

"Mom?" Zach asked gently, his mother's blue eyes fluttering open. She looked up at Zach, who had a smile on his face. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, shooting up from her sleeping position.

"Hey mom..." Zach said, his smile getting bigger.

"Z-Zachary? Am I dreaming?" His mother asked in disbelief, reaching out towards her son. Zach grabbed her hand and held it tightly, letting a few tears roll down his cheeks.

"No...it's really me, mom. I'm here." Zach said, which caused his mother to give him a relieved smile. She let out a few sobs while she wrapped her arms around him, crying into his chest. Zach wrapped his arms around her as well, starting to cry as well.

"Zach, I-I can't believe you came back!" His mother cried, holding him tighter.

"I know, mom. I'm really sorry for leaving you. I was only thinking of me and not you. Can you ever forgive me?" Zach asked, putting his chin on the top of her head.

"You're here and that's all that matters, sweetheart. I forgive you." His mother continued to bury her face into his chest, her tears soaking his shirt. While this was happening, Nick and Judy silently watched from the doorway. Judy had tears in her eyes, a large smile forming on her lips. Judy couldn't help but latch onto Nick, crying into him. Nick, who was shocked at first, just smirked at the bunny and petted her head.

"So emotional." He said quietly, but not quiet enough to avoid Zach's mother's ears. She immediately broke the embrace from Zach, startling him slightly. She looked around the room in search for the source of the voice, her eyes landing on the fox with the bunny latched to him. Her eyes widened in fear, causing her to pull the covers up to her neck to try to protect herself.

"Zach! Why are there animals here!" She exclaimed, fear evident in her voice. Judy immediately brought her attention to Zach's mother, letting go of Nick and wiping her damp eyes.

"Mom, it's okay! They're my friends!" Zach immediately said, attempting to calm her down.

"F-Friends?" His mother repeated back to him, confused out of her mind.

"Yeah, they're the ones who helped me get where I am now. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here right now." Zach explained to her, who started calming her tense muscles. She got up from her bed and slowly approached the fox and bunny.

"Y-you two saved my son?" She asked, Nick and Judy both nodding in confirmation.

"Yes ma'am. My name is Judy Hopps, and this is my friend Nick Wilde. It's nice to finally meet you Mrs. Martineck." Judy smiled, holding out her paw for a shake. Instead of a handshake, his mother knelt down and wrapped Judy and Nick into a hug, which caught them both off guard.

"Thank you for helping him, you two. I don't know what I'd do without him." His mother told the both of them, who were still in slight shock of the hug they were receiving.

"Uh, mom. I think you're making them uncomfortable." Zach pointed out, noting the shocked expression on Nick and Judy's faces. His mother immediately let go of them and blushed slightly in embarrassment.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm a hugger. I like more casual greetings, I hope you didn't mind." She said, smiling nervously.

"It's alright, Mrs. Martineck, I didn't mind. Nick, on the other hand, hates them." Judy leaned closer to Zach's mother. "Probably why he's so irritated all the time." Judy joked, a yell of protest coming from Nick. Zach's mother just chuckled at the two small mammals in front of her.

"You can call me Anna, Mrs. Martineck is too formal for me." Anna stated, earning a nod from both the fox and bunny. Zach watched as his mother conversed with her guests, leaving her depressed state he'd found her in a thing of the past. She seemed as happy as she had always been, regardless of the events over the course of four months. Zach just smiled as his mother laughed along with Nick and Judy, letting himself relax for the first time in a while.

'She's back.'

 **...**

 **~Holy Crap, finally! Whew, that seemed to take a lot longer than I wanted it to. I would've finished it a lot earlier, but my school just wanted to torture me with four hours of homework a day. I literally would get home from school, eat something, do homework until 8 pm, and then write/ use my spare time to my advantage until 10, when I have to go to bed. So I didn't exactly have a whole lot of time during the day. But this chapter is here nonetheless, I hope you guys didn't mind the wait. Also, this is officially the longest chapter I've ever written, it 5,500+ words! I'm really proud of myself! Anyway, tell me how I did by reviewing, it's always appreciated. Thanks!**


	16. Chapter 16

The sun had finally set over the small human settlement, leaving it in black, inky darkness. The only lights that were visible were ones from the houses, but there were still very few of them. One of those few houses happened to be Zach's home, light pouring out of the living room window. Zach was currently sitting on his living room couch, his mother Anna to his left, and Nick and Judy to his right. Anna had tidied up the living room a small bit, just enough to enable them to sit on the couch. Her and Zach conversed with each other in an attempt to catch up with their lives within the past four months.

"...and so today I graduated from the academy. I'm a cop now!" Zach said excitedly, finishing his story with a smile. Anna looked completely ecstatic, wrapping her son in a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh, Zach! That's amazing!" Anna exclaimed with glee.

"Mom...can't...breathe!" Zach croaked, Anna immediately letting go of him.

"Oops! I'm sorry, Zachy. I'm just so happy for you!" Anna smiled weakly at him. "I've watched the news from Zootopia, every since I saw you on it one time." Zach looked at his mother with a surprised expression.

"See, Zach. I told you she would have seen it." Judy told the 18 year old, smiling.

"Zachy..." Nick chuckled at the nickname Anna gave to Zach, only to have Judy elbow him in the ribs. Nick let out a small yelp of pain and rubbed the spot she hit, not saying another word.

"You saw me on tv?" Zach asked Anna, earning a nod from her.

"Of course, I couldn't mistake anyone else for you, sweetheart. Especially if everyone else are animals." Anna laughed a little, a smile forming on Zach's face as well.

"What did you see?" Zach asked curiously.

"The first time I saw you was the video of you taking down that wolf in the alley. Since then I've seen a couple more pictures and photos, but the one that excited me the most was when the rumors of you at the police academy popped up. I was certain that my little boy was doing something great." Anna said, her eyes started watering as her emotions showed themselves. Zach just smiled gently and wrapped his arm around his mother's shoulders.

"Soon he'll be out there making Zootopia a better place, Mrs. Marti- er, Anna." Judy corrected herself, giving Anna a grin.

"I know he'll do a great job, Zach's a perfectionist. Once when he was little, he had his stuffed animals on his bed. And if I moved one of them from its spot, he'd start crying-" Anna started.

"MOM!" Zach exclaimed, his face turning as red as an apple. Nick and Judy started laughing hysterically, causing Zach's face to get even redder. "You've known them for half an hour and you're already telling them embarrassing stories of my childhood?" Zach said, embarrassed not even able to describe how he felt anymore.

"Oh come on, Zach. Lighten up. I doubt they care that much." Anna said, rolling her eyes at her son.

"If they didn't, they wouldn't be literally on the floor laughing right now." Zach deadpanned, gesturing to the fox and bunny who were howling with laughter on the carpet. Zach just let out an agitated sigh and crossed his arms, his face still burning. Nick and Judy continued to laugh for a full minute, Anna laughing along with them as well. Zach, however, just sat there with his face still burning red. He was really happy that his mother wasn't in her depressed state, he really was, but she just had to bring up an embarrassing story already. She had always done that with his new friends, that or showing his baby pictures, which was a lot worse. Zach was praying that his mother didn't show Nick and Judy his baby pictures, he would never hear the end of it.

Nick and Judy had started to calm themselves down, their howling laughter turning into a light chuckle. Nick and Judy took notice of Zach's embarrassed state, seeing him bury his red face into his hands to attempt to hide it.

"Zach...I'm sorry...it's just...hahahaha." Nick tried to say something, but ultimately succumbed to his laugh attack again.

"It's not even funny..." Zach grumbled, trying to block out Nick's loud laughter from his ears.

"Zach, are you okay? I'm sorry for laughing..." Judy said, attempting to hold back some giggles that tried to escape. Zach just huffed and brought his face away from his hands.

"Besides my dignity being shattered, I'm fine." Zach said irritated, an unamused look on his face.

"Aw, you look just like this one picture of you when you were a baby, all angry and irritated. I'll go get it!" Anna started, running down the hall to her bedroom.

"Mom! Wait, no! Don't do tha- and she's gone. Perfect..." Zach just sighed and waited for the embarrassment to begin. Anna came back into the room with a baby blue picture album in her hands, Zach's eyes widened at the sight of it. That album had so many embarrassing photos of him in it, and Zach started practically begging his mother not to show Nick and Judy.

"Mom, please! Don't show them! I want some dignity left over!" Zach said to Anna, who completely ignored him as she sat down. Zach watched on helplessly as she opened the album, flipping through the pages to find the photo she wanted. Stopping at a page in the middle of the album, she turned the photo album towards the two animals.

"See? He has the same face!" Anna said with a giant smile. Nick and Judy both looked from the photo to Zach, comparing him with the photo. Once they realized he did, the two started laughing again.

"Oh my god, he does!" Nick said in between laughs, causing Zach to go even redder than before.

"Oh gosh, my sides are hurting!" Judy squealed, holding her side while laughing. Zach just sat there, his entire face feeling like it was on fire.

"Oh! And here's a picture of Zach in the bathtub, ain't he cute?" Anna asked happily, causing Zach's eyes to widen.

"Mom, no." Zach said desperately, trying to get her to stop.

"Here's one where he covered himself in baby powder."

"Mom, pleeaaaaaase."

"This one's my favorite. Zach got into my makeup once and this was the aftermath." Nick and Judy ceased laughing for a moment to stare at the picture. They looked at each other before starting to howl with laughter once more, Anna even joining in on the laughter. Zach was beyond embarrassed, almost to the point of tears. His face was unimaginably red, he didn't want to face anyone ever again, his entire dignity had been shattered to little tiny pieces, it couldn't get any worse.

"And here's one of Zach wearing my heels once-" Those were the words that sent Zach over the edge, just causing Zach to stand up and walk towards the hallway.

"Zach, sweetie? Where are you going?" Anna asked him, only earning silence from him.

"Zach wait! I'm sorry, come on!" Nick said, chuckling at the end of his sentence. Judy looked at Anna with a worried expression.

"Is he alright?" Judy asked, a guilty tone in her voice.

"He'll be fine, he's always been embarrassed of these photos. I guess I may have gone a little too far though." Anna stated, staring at the hallway Zach went down a moment ago.

Meanwhile Zach had gone to the bathroom, trying to cool off his burning face. Turning on the sink, he splashed his face with cold water, trying to get his red face back to its usual color. He looked up at the mirror, letting the water run down his face and drip back into the sink. His face started cooling down a bit, but there was still a reddish tint in his cheeks. He splashed another wave of water onto his face before grabbing a blue towel from the rack on the wall, drying his face off quickly. He put the towel back and stared at himself in the mirror once again, taking a deep breath. He made sure that he was totally calm and collected before exiting the bathroom. When Zach reached the living room, three sets of eyes were immediately locked onto him.

"Hey Zach, you alright?" Nick asked, a hint of guilt in his voice.

"Yeah...I'm good. Sorry for leaving, I needed to, uh, cool down a little." Zach sighed, sitting down between Anna, Nick, and Judy.

"Are you sure, sweetie? I did kinda go overboard with the pictures. I was just so caught up in having other mammals here I got too excited." Anna explained herself, giving a sheepish smile.

"It's alright, as long as it doesn't get on the Internet..." Zach turned to Nick, who had his phone out. "...Nick."

"What? I didn't do anything?" Nick said defensively, a small smirk making its way to his lips.

"Delete it or you'll wake up tomorrow with no fur on your head." Zach threatened, causing Nick's eyes to widen. His worried expression was quickly replaced with a smug one.

"You wouldn't do that." Nick said, a smirk forming on his face once more.

"You've seen how aggressive I could be, do you really want to try me." Zach stated, an evil smile on his face. Nick's smug smile immediately dropped from his face as he turned his attention to his phone.

"And deleted!" He proclaimed, a nervous laugh escaping him as he looked at Zach.

"Good." Zach said, letting himself relax.

"Uh, Zach. As much as I'd like to stay, it's getting kinda late. It's already 9 and we have an hour drive back." Judy said, looking at the time in her phone.

"Oh..." Zach said, sadness suddenly washing over him. He hesitantly looked over to Anna, who looked completely devastated.

"You have to go?" She asked, her voice sounding broken and despondent. Zach wasted no time, grabbing her hands and squeezing them tightly.

"Mom, look. I want to stay, really I do, but I have responsibilities in Zootopia now. I know it's hard, it's been hard for me to be away from you too. I'd really want to take you with me, but I don't think it's safe yet. But I swear, once it's safe enough, and I get enough money for my own place, I can take you there, okay?" Zach wiped the tears that were rolling down his mother's cheeks, a small smile on his face. "Just know that I'm making Zootopia safe for all of us. I don't want you to go back to the way you were before. Can you do that, for me?" Zach asked Anna, hoping that she wouldn't become depressed as before.

"It's going to be really hard, but I'll try." Anna gave Zach a weak smile before pulling him into a tight embrace.

"And I'll try to visit any chance I get, okay?" Zach said, tears rolling down his cheeks now.

"Alright. I love you, Zach."

"I love you too, mom." Zach broke the embrace with his mother, giving her a smile. Anna returned the smile in full, which was Zach's signal to stand up. Nick and Judy followed suit, standing up and getting ready to leave.

"It was nice meeting you, Anna." Judy said politely with a kind smile.

"We had a great time..." Nick said before getting closer to Anna. "...and can you send me some of those pictures? I think I could use those to mess with Zach a little more." Nick whispered to her, causing the adult human to laugh a little. Before she could answer him, Zach spoke.

"Just because you're whispering doesn't mean I can't hear you Nick!" Zach said annoyed, glaring daggers at the fox. Nick just put his hands up defensively, looking at Anna, who winked at him. Nick smirked and walked over to Zach and Judy, who were waiting patiently by the front door.

"Bye, mom. Remember what I told you." Zach reassured her, who gave a nod.

"I'll be okay, Zach. Don't worry. Just...try to come by soon, alright?" Anna said hopefully.

"I'll visit as soon as I can." Zach said, a small smile on his face. With that said, Zach opened the door, waving to his mother. Nick and Judy copied Zach's action, a smile on both of their faces. Zach stepped out the door and looked to his right, only to find two figures coming down the street with flashlights. Zach's eyes widened with fear, causing him Nick and Judy back inside. Zach swiftly closed the front door, his breathing quickening.

"Zach? What's wrong?" Judy asked him, confused. Nick and Anna both had equally confused expressions on their faces.

"There are cops out there! Someone must've called them!" Zach yelled quietly, a look of terror appearing on the other there's faces.

"What do we do?" Nick asked anxiously.

"I-I don't know! Uh...wait! Go through the backyard!" Zach said, running towards the kitchen. Nick and Judy quickly followed him to the door as well. Just as they were about to leave, there was a knock at the door. Zach quickly turned around and looked at Anna, who still sat on the couch with a surprised expression.

"Mom! Stall them!" Zach said, Anna giving him a small nod. This was when Zach ran outside, Nick and Judy right behind him. The backyard was surrounded by chain-length fences on three sides, which made their getaway much more difficult.

"Where do we go?" Judy asked, looking around frantically. Zach and Nick too looked around for an escape route, Zach eyeing his neighbor's yard to the left of him.

"C'mon." Zach whispered, going to the fence that separated his and his neighbor's yard. He quickly vaulted over the fence, landing on the other side with a quiet thud. Judy was next to climb over, which she did as quiet as she could. Nick on the other hand got his pants hooked onto the fence and fell face first into the dirt with an 'oof!'

"Nick! Let's go!" Zach whispered, yanking the fox up by the wrist.

"Ow! Ow! Watch the wrist!" Nick whined, holding his wrist in pain. Zach just shook his head and proceeded to walk to the opposing side of his neighbor's yard, searching for a way out. He spotted the gate to the front yard on the side of the house, which made him gesture to Nick and Judy so they can come over.

"Guys, this way!" Zach said, pointing towards the gate. The human, fox, and bunny creeped over to the gate, trying to stay as quiet as possible. When Zach reached the gate, he flipped up the latch and pushed it open, peering towards his house. The two officers from before were standing at his door, most likely talking to his mother. Zach went back behind the wall of the house and turned to Nick and Judy.

"Alright, here's what we're going to do. We're gonna try to sneak away as quietly as possible, and at the end of the block we'll make a run for it, okay?" Zach explained, Nick giving him a skeptical look.

"Are you sure that'll work?" Nick asked, unsure about their recently formed plan.

"Do you have a better idea then?" Zach asked, crossing his arms.

"Uh..." was all Nick could manage to say, not being able to think of any other plan for them to use.

"Thought so. Alright, let's go." Zach said, proceeding to stealthily walk in the opposite direction of his house, and away from the cops. Nick and Judy soon followed, copying Zach's stealthy movements. They had left Zach's neighbor's front yard and had made it to the next house when it hit the fan. One of the officers must've noticed them moving in the corner of his eye, as he pointed his flashlight right on the trio. Zach, Nick, and Judy all stopped and looked in the direction of the cop, all of them looking at him with shock and fear.

"Hey! Stop right there!" The cop yelled, causing his partner to look in their direction as well. As soon as the two cops had taken notice of Nick and Judy, they started rushing them.

"Shit! Run!" Zach yelled, causing the three of them to run from the two officers. They ran as fast as they could, trying to avoid the flashlight being shone on them. They made it to the end of the block, only another block and a half towards freedom. They continued to run until they heard the sound of something whizz by them. Zach looked behind him to realize that they were shooting tranquilizer darts at them in an attempt to slow them down.

"They're shooting tranquilizer darts at us!" Zach informed Nick and Judy, causing them to look behind them with fear.

"Uh oh, how far do we have to go?!" Judy asked, her voice full of fear. Zach saw the end of the block up ahead, which meant they were almost there.

"A half a block!" Zach said, not losing a bit of his speed. All of a sudden, they heard a grunt come from Nick. Zach looked at the red fox in horror as a tranquilizer dart had hit him in the back. Nick pulled the dart out as quickly as he could, but it's effects had already started. Nick had started to slow down, his eyes slowly closing. Zach took this opportunity to pick the fox up before he slowed down too much, knowing he would pass out. Zach held the fox in his arms as he and Judy continued to run down the street.

"It's alright Nick, we're almost there!" Zach assured the fox, who had almost completely lost consciousness. Zach could see the dense forest now, which gave him an extra boost of energy. The officers were still on their tail, shouting and shooting tranquilizer darts at them as they ran. Once they were close enough, Zach and Judy darted across the street, their sights. Once they were right in front of it, Zach heard Judy yelp. Zach looked at the rabbit, who had a dart sticking out of her neck. She immediately fell to the ground, the effects working faster in her because of her small size. Zach wasted no time picking her up, putting her on top of Nick as he ran with both of them. It was pretty easy carrying both of them, since they were both so light, but that wasn't the big issue. He could barely fit through the trees as it is, but carrying to animals? It would be tough. Zach ran into the forest, trying to slip through the wider gaps he saw first. He heard the sound of darts piercing the bark of neighboring trees, which were dangerously close to him. Zach saw a narrower gap ahead, knowing he had to get moving fast. He reached his arms through the gap, putting Nick and Judy on the ground before squeezing through himself. Just as he ducked to pick them up, a dart flew over him and striking another tree in front of him. Having now officially shat himself, Zach continued the same process of pushing the unconscious rabbit and fox through the small gaps and then putting himself through. Miraculously, he managed to get deep enough where the tranquilizer darts couldn't get through. Zach sat down with his back against the trunk of the tree, staying completely silent just in case the cops had entered the forest. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, but was just a few minutes in reality, Zach allowed himself to relax against the rough bark of the tree. The only sound he heard was his inhaling and exhaling, as well as own. He looked down at Nick and Judy, who were both still out cold. Zach looked towards the direction of his settlement with only one question in mind.

"How the hell did I not get hit?" Zach asked, looking all over his body for any signs of a dart. Zach just sighed and let his heartbeat slow, letting the silence relax him. He waited for another ten minutes before standing back up, picking up Nick and Judy. He continued the same routine over and over again, slowly but surely squeezing through the trees to escape.

 **...**

Zach huffed as he placed the unconscious rabbit and fox in the back seat of Nick's convertible, wiping the sweat from his brow. The amount of work he had to do to get back to the car had really tired him out, which was understandable. Zach pulled out his phone from his pants pocket, wondering what time it was at this point. Zach was shocked to see that it was 9:45, almost a full hour since he had left his house. While he had his phone out, he noticed that he had the weakest signal to one of his settlement's cell towers. Zach took the opportunity to his advantage, tapping on the 'texts' icon and scrolling to his mom's contact.

'Hey mom, we made it out! Don't worry!' He typed before hitting send, hoping that the weak signal he had didn't vanish. Not even five seconds later, his phone dinged and vibrated, signaling a text was received. Zach looked at the screen to see the text his mother had sent.

'Thank god! Be careful Zachy, I love you' Zach read, a small smile forming on his face. Zach quickly texted an 'I love you too' and sent it, just before the weak signal he had was lost. He let out a sigh of relief, putting his main focus on the two unconscious mammals in the vehicle in front of him. Zach looked down at Nick and Judy in the back seat, noticing that Judy had her head on the fox's chest. Zach would think this was a cute sight, but Judy happened to be drooling all over Nick. And when he means all over, he means that a pool of spit had gathered on Nick's chest. Zach started chuckling a little, an evil smile slowly making its way onto his features. Zach looked brought his phone back up to his face, opening up the camera app this time. He pointed it at the photo-worthy sight in front of him, taking a quick photo of Nick and Judy.

"Aaand blackmail." Zach smirked, having an embarrassing photo of Nick in case he didn't delete that one photo of him. Getting back to the task at hand, he realized something. They had to get going now if they wanted to be able to go to work tomorrow, and both Nick and Judy were still passed out. So...

"...I have to drive." Zach finished his thought aloud, sounding a lot less than enthusiastic about it. Zach absolutely hated driving, not because he was a horrible driver, but of the other horrible drivers. Other people managed to always get his blood boiling every time he drove, that or Zach had severe road rage, he wasn't sure. He decided to not waste anymore time, heading over to the driver side door. When he opened it, he took notice of the small amount of leg room he had.

"Uh oh." Was the only thing Zach could say about his predicament, staring at the restricted space with confusion. Zach started to climb in, trying to squeeze his larger legs inside the car. He was almost entirely in, but his feet couldn't exactly fit under the dashboard. Zach just groaned in frustration, stopping for a minute. He had to figure out a way to get his feet in, because he definitely didn't feel like waiting for them to wake up. That could be hours at most, and he didn't want to take that chance. Zach looked at his feet, his stupid, large feet. He just had to be a size 12 in shoes, didn't he?

'Wait...shoes? Take off my shoes!' Zach came to a conclusion, quickly slipping his red and black gym shoes off his feet. Once they were off, he threw them haphazardly into the passenger seat. He attempted to get his feet into the confined space, this time his feet a little bit easier to get inside. After a significantly shorter amount of struggling, he managed to the entirety of his legs inside the small vehicle. He closed the door finally, sighing with relief. Zach opened the center console in search of the keys, which he didn't find in there. He searched everywhere, from under the seats, the little storage spaces on the doors, everywhere. Until Zach realized that Nick probably had them on him.

"I'm an idiot!" Zach facepalmed, turning around to look at Nick. Zach had to unjam his legs from under the steering wheel in order to search Nick's pockets for the keys, which he found in his left front pants pocket. Zach smiled to himself as he pulled the metal object from the fox's pocket, turning back around. Zach stuck his legs back down towards the pedals, sticking the keys in the ignition. With the turn of the key, the car roared to life. Zach grinned widely as he revved the engine, hearing the car purr.

"If this wasn't Nick's car I'd totally do a burnout." Zach said, admiring the sense of power the car had. Before Zach started driving, he put on his seatbelt, which barely could fit around him. Then he went on his phone and blasted some music from his rock playlist. As soon as the music started playing, Zach turned the car around and headed towards the city, leaving his home behind him.

Zach was now on a two lane road, the city center getting closer and closer to him. Listening to a Growl Out Boy (sorry for bad pun) song that was playing, Zach absentmindedly started to sing along with it.

" _This ain't a scene, Its a God damn arms race_

 _This ain't a scene, its a God damn arms race_

 _This ain't a scene, its a God damn arms race_

 _I'm not a shoulder to cry on but I digress_

 _I'm a leading man_

 _And the lies I weave are oh so intricate, oh so intricate_

 _I'm a leading man_

 _And the lies I weave are oh so intricate, oh so intricate."_

Zach sang along, which was more like him shouting the words rather than singing. He was so caught up in singing that he didn't notice Nick slowly regaining consciousness. The fox's eyes fluttered open, the first thing he saw was the night sky above him moving. He felt something lying on top of him, which caused him to look at what, or who rather, was on him. Nick looked at the still unconscious bunny, but quickly spotted the amount of drool he had in his chest.

"Ugh! What the hell? Nick exclaimed, shoving Judy off of him. She flopped on the other side of the seat, still knocked out. This caused Zach to turn around and notice that Nick had woken up, turning down the volume on his phone.

"Hey, sleeping beauty. You finally up?" Zach smirked, keeping his eyes on the road. Nick looked forward to see Zach in the driver seat, an expression of shock on his face.

"Zach? What happened?" Nick said frantically, climbing his way to the passenger seat up front. Zach, not taking his eyes off the road, spoke up.

"Relax, everything's fine. I just had to carry the two of you through that forest while dodging tranquilizer darts, no big deal. Heheh..." Zach explained, adding a fatigued laugh at the end of his sentence.

"You carried both of us back?" Nick asked in utter shock, not believing what he heard.

"Well, yeah! I wasn't gonna just leave you guys there! Not after all the things you've done for me, that's for sure." Zach said like it was the most obvious thing, and Nick assumed he had a point. Nick then looked down at the odd angle Zach's legs were in just to drive the car.

"Ouch, doesn't that hurt?" Nick cringed at the sight, Zach only shrugging in response.

"I've been in worse positions, trust me. My cousins used to put me in a small cardboard box and push it down their stairs." Zach said, laughing a little. Nick cracked a small smile as well as chuckle a little. There was a small silence between the two of them, the only sound they heard was the wind blowing past their ears. Nick sighed and looked at the fast approaching metropolis.

"Some day, huh?" Nick asked Zach to break the silence. Zach nodded in agreement, giving a small smile.

"Yeah, it's hard to believe all this happened today. I'm just happy I got to see my mom again." His smile faltered a little. "When I first saw my house like that, I thought something worse happened." Nick knew what Zach meant by that, and immediately spoke.

"Hey, don't think about that. All that matters is that she's alright, and that we're alright." Nick looked back towards Judy in the backseat. "Mostly." Nick smirked at the bunny, who kept drooling on the back seat.

"Yeah, that's true." Zach smiled while he continued to stare at the road in front of him. Zach let out a content sigh, attempting to shift his legs in a more comfortable position, only to have them completely stuck.

"You sure you don't want me to drive? You look pretty uncomfortable." Nick asked, earning a nod from Zach.

"I mean, my legs feel like their gonna snap in half, but I don't think you should drive, especially since you were just knocked out by a tranquilizer dart." Zach told the fox, trying to ignore the pain in his legs.

"I can drive, I don't feel woozy." Nick said, Zach only shrugging in response.

"Eh, it's not a big deal. I'm fine with driving. It's not like it's the worst thing in the world." Zach said, standing his ground. Nick decided to drop the subject, knowing that he wouldn't win. There was yet another silence that appeared between them, Nick looking at the passing scenery. They were about three fourths of the way there, which meant about another 15 minutes of driving. Knowing that he couldn't stand to hear silence, Zach decided to speak up.

"Hey Nick?" He asked, causing the fox to turn his attention towards him.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks"

"For what? If anything, I should be thanking you." Nick had a puzzled look on his face, unsure on why Zach was thanking him.

"For this adventure. I haven't had this much excitement...ever, actually. My life was pretty boring before I came here, just going to school, coming home, drawing, going to sleep, repeat. But since I came here, I met two great friends and became a cop. I couldn't ask for anything more, and it's because of you, and Judy of course." Zach smiled at Nick, who smiled in return.

"Wow... I never thought I'd have that effect on people. It's...nice." Nick smiled. "And I could at the same about you, too. I mean, working at the station is great and all, but it got pretty repetitive lately. Just me and Carrots, going out on patrols, it got old pretty fast. Even screwing around with Chief was getting old. But when you came along, so much happened so fast. So, I guess I have to thank you too." Nick smiled, but not one of his sly, mischievous smiles, a real, genuine one.

"Wow, I guess we were helping each other out before either of us knew it." Zach realized.

"Yeah." Nick said contently, letting out a happy sigh. The rest of the drive was filled with silence, but not of the awkward kind. It was a peaceful silence, both Nick and Zach feeling content, like everything would be okay.

And it was.

 **...**

 **Well, here's the chapter! I hope you guys liked it! This story has been getting so much great feedback, and I couldn't be happier! This story really gave me something to do (besides the four hours of homework a day I get now). I'm also glad to say that this story's gotten 13,000+ views now, which is absolutely insane. Thank you everyone! As always, leave some feedback to tell me how I did, it's always appreciated.**


	17. Chapter 17

Zach was seated on the couch in Nick and Judy's apartment, drawing something in his sketchbook. The three of them had arrived back at the apartment when it was almost 11 o'clock, Judy had woken up by the time they arrived. She said she had a very bad headache and nausea, so she went straight to bed. Nick seemed to go to bed as well, which left Zach alone in the living room. Despite all the excitement that happened in the past day, Zach couldn't manage to go to sleep. Excitement and nervousness had kept his body from resting, causing him to do what usually calmed him down. Drawing. So he started drawing his surroundings, the coffee table, tv, anything that was in his vicinity. He started calming down after he drew the entire room, which took him about a half an hour to complete. It was nearing midnight, and Zach knew he had to go to sleep soon. Tossing the sketchbook onto the table, the pencil along with it, he grabbed the blanket that had been left there for him. Judy had went out and got a blanket his size while he was at the academy, which Zach was very thankful for. It did get pretty cold in the middle of the night, and the dark blue, fuzzy blanket would fix that problem. Zach reached over to the lamp that was next to couch, turning it off. Once the room was engulfed with darkness, Zach snuggled into his new blanket, allowing him to fall asleep without any worries to plague his mind.

 **...**

 _Zach eyed the area that surrounded him, which was one that he didn't recognize. He was standing in the middle of a white void, nothing in sight whatsoever._

 _"How did I get here?" Zach asked himself aloud, still peering into the vast whiteness for anyone, or anything for that matter. He didn't know what this place was or how he got here to begin with, but standing around wasn't doing him any good. Zach decided pick a direction and start walking, given that there wasn't much else he could do anyway. When he started walking, his footsteps were the only thing that echoed around him. Zach continued to look around him as he walked through the void, scanning for any signs of life. He continued walking for about a minute, nervousness slowly building up inside of him._

 _"Is anyone here? Hello?" Zach managed to find his voice._

 _"Zachary." A voice said, causing Zach to start frantically looking around him, searching for the source of the disembodied voice._

 _"Who said that?" Zach asked the voice, a sudden feeling of fear rising up inside him._

 _"Zach." The voice said again, Zach recognizing the voice after hearing it a second time._

 _"W-wait...Dad?" Zach asked, his eyes widening in realization._

 _"Yes, it's me, Zach." The voice responded, causing Zach to almost break down._

 _"H-How is this happening?" Zach asked in confusion. Why could he hear his father's voice? Wasn't his father dead? Why was he in this void in the first place? He had so many questions._

 _"Don't worry about that, Zach. I just wanted to say how proud I am of you." His father said, Zach able to hear the smile his father had. He couldn't help but smile as well at his father's words._

 _"Really?" Zach asked, looking around for his father anywhere._

 _"Of course, buddy. You managed to go to Zootopia and make something of yourself. You became a cop! That's a very great feat for you, and I couldn't be happier for my little boy." His father said, his voice filled with pride and happiness._

 _"Thanks dad." Zach said, still searching for him in the endless white void. "Where are you? I want to see you."_

 _"Look behind you, kiddo." His father said, causing Zach to whip around as fast as he could. About 20 feet away from him stood his father, who smiled at him. He wore a white button up shirt and white jeans, whiter than the white void itself. His brown hair was combed neatly, his beard had been shaved, he seemed a lot happier than he'd ever seen him before. Zach wasted no time, sprinting up to him, almost tackling his father with a hug._

 _"Whoa, Zach. Don't knock me over!" His father laughed, returning the hug._

 _"I'm so happy to see you dad!" Zach said, tears starting to form in his eyes._

 _"Me too, Zach." He smiled, holding his son tighter. They stood there for a good minute or two, Zach just hugging his father tightly, not ever wanting to let go._

 _"Hey dad?" Zach asked curiously, causing his father to look down at him._

 _"Yeah?" He responded._

 _"Do you blame me for...what happened?" Zach looked at the white ground, a few tears falling._

 _"Do I blame you? Of course not! Why would it be your fault, Zach?" His father looked at him with a look of utter shock._

 _"If I didn't want to go to that stupid restaurant, you might still be...be..." Zach couldn't finish his sentence, a few sobs escaping from him._

 _"Zach, listen to me." His father said, causing Zach to look up at him with watery eyes. "Nobody knew that would happen, it couldn't be stopped. It was just my time to go."_

 _"But I didn't want you to go! I wasn't ready to lose anyone!" Zach yelled, which only caused his father to hug him even closer._

 _"I know, Zach, I know. You have to remember that I'm looking after you and your mother too. I know that you'll always be safe, especially since you have those two friends of yours." His father tried to calm his son down, which had seemed to do some effect on Zach._

 _"Nick and Judy?" Zach asked, and his father nodded._

 _"I know they'll protect you too, so don't worry about a thing." His father said, breaking the embrace with Zach. Zach looked at his father with a sad smile, wiping away his tears. Before anything else could happen, his father started fading away. Zach immediately started to panic, his eyes widening with fear._

 _"Zach, it's alright. Just remember what I told you. I'll keep you safe, along with Nick and Judy." His father said, his body getting more and more transparent by the moment._

 _"I know dad. I love you." Zach said, tears building up in his eyes again._

 _"I love you too, Zach." His father said, giving Zach a final smile. Zach smiled back as his father completely faded away, leaving Zach alone in the white void once more. Zach, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, closed his eyes, feeling at peace._

 **...**

Zach opened his eyes, only to find that instead of seeing the endless white void from before, he was facing the ceiling of Nick and Judy's living room. Zach sat up on the couch, his blanket still draped over his legs. Zach noticed that his cheeks had tear stains on them as well, and he wiped them away quickly.

'It was a dream?' Zach thought to himself, looking around just to assure himself. It would make more sense if it was a dream, but everything felt so real, so genuine! It was like he was actually there. Zach thought back for what his father said in his dream, which put a small smile on his face. Even if it was a dream, the words that his father had said to him were far from imaginary. Zach wasn't even sure if it WAS a dream, or if his father had managed to contact him by utilizing his dreams. Zach wasn't a very superstitious person to begin with, but there's always the possibility. Zach reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone, wanting to check the time. When he managed to pull it out of his pocket and turn it on, he saw that the time was 5:07 am.

"Hm, good timing. I had to get up anyway." Zach said to himself, throwing the blanket off his feet. He stood up from his comfy spot, which he wished he could stay in forever. But alas he had to go to the station today, which he was excited for too, don't get him wrong. Everyone would rather sleep in than work. Zach stretched his stiff muscles, a few of his joints letting out a popping sound when he did so. Zach was surprisingly energetic, which wasn't how he usually was in the morning. Normally he would be like a zombie, trudging around and almost walking into walls. But today he had a spring in his step as he walked down the hall towards the bathroom, needing to relieve himself and take a shower. Before he entered the bathroom, he went to the hall closet that was next to it. He had put his uniform in there the night before, considering that he didn't have anywhere else to put it. He grabbed the uniform quickly and proceeded into the bathroom, getting ready to start his day.

After having a quick shower and getting dressed, Zach was ready to go. Well, just about ready anyway. The uniform they gave him didn't come with shoes, since animals never wore shoes. So he had to wear his black and red running shoes with his police uniform, and they were by the front door. Zach exited the bathroom, heading towards the living room to grab his shoes when something stopped him in his tracks. He heard the sound of someone coughing and groaning, and it was coming from Judy's room. Wanting to see if she was okay, Zach slowly walked up to the door. He knocked on the wood surface twice, hoping to get some sort of answer from the other side of the door.

"Come in-" Judy's voice was interrupted by a series of coughs and then some more groaning. Zach slowly opened the door, opening it just so he could pop his head into her room.

"Judy? You alright? I heard you coughing in here." Zach said quietly, his voice filled with concern.

"I don't know. I think-" a cough interrupted her, "-I think I might've caught something." Judy sniffled, pulling the covers up to her chin. Zach didn't like seeing her like this, she wasn't her usual excitable self. Instead she was confined to her bed and having coughing fits.

"Do you think you caught something from my settlement?" Zach asked curiously, Judy shrugging before coughing once more. Zach walked up to her bedside, putting the back of his hand on her forehead. "You feel burning hot, Judy. Maybe you shouldn't go in today." Zach suggested, causing Judy's eyes to widen.

"No! I can't do-" Her sudden outburst caused a series of coughs to start again. "-ow...I can't stay home, I've never missed work besides on a day off before." Judy tried to argue, but we all know when Zach has his mind set on something, there's no turning back.

"Judy, you have a fever, you look like you're dying, you sound like you're coughing up one of your lungs. I know it's not my place to say, but you're not going in to work." Zach told her, a somewhat stern look on his face. Judy hesitated a moment before sighing.

"Fine." She said, sniffling.

"Good. Do you have any medicine lying around?" Zach asked, his voice going back to its gentle and caring tone once again.

"Under the sink in the bathroom." Judy coughed, Zach nodding. He went back into the hall, going towards the bathroom. Just as he was about to enter the bathroom, Nick sluggishly emerged from his bedroom.

"Hey Zach, you up already?" He said, his voice sounding monotone and tired.

"Hold on a sec." Zach said quickly, going through the bathroom door. Zach went straight for the cabinet under the sink, swinging open both doors.

"What are you doing?" Nick asked, poking his head inside the bathroom. Zach didn't answer, rummaging through the cabinet to find the medicine. He scanned over all the contents of it until he spotted the medicine behind a hair dryer. Zach snatched up the bottle of medicine and quickly and stood back up.

"Judy's sick." Zach told the fox as he walked by, heading straight for Judy's room once again.

"Sick?" Nick asked again, Zach nodding before entering Judy's room again. When he walked in, Judy was still in the same position. Sniffling, coughing, groaning, all of her symptoms were still present.

"Hey, I got the medicine." Zach said quietly, walking over to Judy's bedside.

"Okay good." Judy said before another coughing fit started up. When she started coughing again, Nick peered inside the room as well.

"Do we have a sickie 'wittle bunny in here?" Nick said with a smirk. Judy just rolled her eyes at his comment and looked at Zach.

"Can you give me the medicine please." She asked quietly, her voice sounding quiet and hoarse.

"Alright. Let's see..." Zach said, examining the label on the back of the bottle. "For small animals, give 1/4 of a cup." Zach read aloud, popping the little plastic cup off the bottle. Zach twisted open the cap, pouring in the dark red liquid into the cup. Once it was roughly 1/4 full, Zach handed the cup to the ill rabbit. Judy hesitantly downed the medicine, her face contorting into one of disgust.

"Bleh! I hate the taste of medicine." Judy muttered, putting her head back down on her pillow.

"If someone actually liked the taste of it, they have a problem." Nick stated, trying to lighten up the mood a bit. Zach just nodded, taking the tiny cup back from Judy.

"Alright, so what do we do? We can't leave her here alone. Maybe I should stay home..." Zach proposed.

"NO!" Judy exclaimed, only to bring along a new wave of coughing fits. Nick and Zach just looked at Judy with wide eyes, startled by her sudden outburst. Once she stopped coughing, Judy continued. "It's bad enough I'm staying home. You guys need to go, especially you, Zach. It's your first day."

"But we can't just leave you here alone. What if you need something?" Zach asked, his worry growing larger and larger by the second.

"I can take care of myself, guys. Don't worry. I've been sick before. You guys should finish getting ready." Judy assured the both of them, smiling weakly.

"Alright, Carrots. If you insist." Nick agreed, although he still seemed unsure about the whole idea. He proceeded to leave Judy's room and head towards the bathroom, probably to take a shower himself. Zach, on the other hand, hesitated to leave, stopping in the doorway. Zach turned around to look at Judy again, not waning to leave her alone all day.

"Judy, I don't thin-" Zach started, only to be cut off by the aforementioned rabbit.

"Zach, I'm fine. You need to stop worrying. It's going to stress you out, and you shouldn't be stressed out on your first day." Judy told him, who just sighed in defeat.

"Fine. But if you need anything, call me. Okay?" Zach said back, earning a nod from Judy.

"Sure, Zach. I'll call if I need anything." Judy agreed with a smile. Zach just smiled back at her, finally leaving the room. Zach sighed as he walked into the living room, forgetting for a moment what he was doing before. Once he felt the unusual draft on his feet, he remembered what he had wanted to get in the first place, his shoes. Zach walked over to the front door, where his red and black shoes lay. Picking them up off the ground, he carried them to the couch, where he set them down on the floor next to him. Zach sat down on the soft cushion of the couch, grabbing his backpack. He pulled out a pair of white socks from one of the pockets, quickly slipping the warm fabric over his cold feet. Feeling the warmth his socks gave his feet, Zach put on his shoes. After he did so, he stood up, looking down at himself. He had to admit, he looked pretty weird wearing his running shoes with his police uniform. But what are you gonna do? Zach just sighed and pulled out his phone, which said it was 5:36. All he had to do was wait for Nick to get ready and they would be good to go. Zach just waited patiently on the couch, his mind starting to wander.

'I can't believe it! It's my first day!' Zach excitedly thought, a smile forming on his face. He never thought he could be a cop in his life, but he proved himself wrong. Not only did he prove himself wrong, he proved his entire settlement wrong. He made it big in Zootopia, he survived, he succeeded. Zach hardly could comprehend anything at this point, feeling like everything was a giant dream. But he knew that everything that occurred had been real, he's made sure of it. He'd pinch himself from time to time just to see if he was dreaming, but he was still here, and everything else was still here.

"Alright Zach, you ready?" Nick's voice broke Zach from his thoughts. Zach just smiled at the fox and stood up.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Zach stated, looking at himself one final time. "I wish the uniform came with shoes though." Zach said following Nick to the door.

"Shoes?" Nick asked, a confused look on his face.

"These." Zach pointed to the red and black running shoes on his feet. "These are shoes."

"Oh, that's pretty weird. I've never seen anything like that before." Nick said, staring at them with slight curiosity.

"Yeah, I've noticed that animals don't where shoes." Zach pointed out, noting that Nick didn't have shoes either.

"Yeah, that's true. Why do you have them?" Nick asked him.

"To protect my feet." Zach stated, like it was obvious.

"Don't you have paw pads on them?" Nick asked once more, suddenly fascinated by Zach's strange anatomy.

"Nope, no paws, no fur, just skin. If I walk barefoot for a while it starts to feel sore. That or I get a bunch of cuts on my feet." Zach explained, remembering a few times when he did walk barefoot being not so pleasant.

"Hm, I guess you learn something new everyday." Nick said, smirking. "Cmon, we don't want to be late." Nick said, walking down the hall towards the stairs.

"Since when do you care about being late?" Zach teased, Nick only shrugging back.

"Hey, I'm talking about you. Being late for your first day isn't a great first impression. Trust me, I'd know." Nick said, his grin widening.

"Alright, fair point. Let's go." Zach said, following the fox down the stairs to the exit.

 **...**

 **~Hey guys, I finally got around to updating as you could tell. I honestly don't know if I'm gonna be able to update as often as before, school and homework have really been taking up a lot of my free time. The only time I have to write is before I go to bed (because I usually have four hours of homework that takes until 8pm), and by then I'm usually half asleep and can barely think at all, let alone write. Besides then, I have maybe a few minutes before school starts and a few minutes between classes and that's it. What I'm trying to say is that there might be larger gaps between updates as the school year goes on, and I hope you guys can understand that. I'll try to write as often as I could, but that doesn't guarantee updates every other day like how I've done in the past. I just hope you guys could understand the point of view I'm coming from. If you do, you're a true friend.**

 **As always, if you could leave me some feedback to tell me how I did, that would be great. Thanks!**


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